The Aurora of February 4

Abstract

I WRITE a very short account of the great aurora of February 4, as seen by me in the south-east of France, between Chambéry and Macon. It may be of some interest, as a brilliant aurora is very unusual in those latitudes, and this was quite comparable in brilliancy to the auroras of October 1870, and November 1871, which I witnessed in Scotland. The sunset was very clear and bright, but as the sunlight gradually faded, light fleecy clouds appeared in different parts of the sky, with the ruddy tints characteristic of the Northern Lights. As it became darker the redness increased in intensity and extent, overspreading a large portion of the sky, especially towards the zenith, and was streaked with bands of greenish white light. On the eastern horizon a well-defined arch of this pale green light was visible for some time, while underneath the arch the sky was so black that but for a large star shining in the centre of the blackness, I should have supposed that the darkness was due to a heavy cloud. There were, in fact, no true clouds at the time in the sky, and the large stars were everywhere visible amid the shifting masses of nebulous light, which at one instant seemed to be the ruddy reflection of a great fire, and at another to be lighted up by the rays of a full moon. Long streamers of red and green light seemed to shoot up towards the zenith from almost every point of the horizon at various times; but singularly enough there appeared to be fewer displays of this sort in the north than in any other quarter of the heavens. Being, however, in a railway carriage in motion, and with mountains on every side, the true horizon was not visible, and it was impossible to make very accurate observations. The rosy clouds remained long after the coruscations had died away, but the chief splendour was displayed for an hour and a half after sunset.