The Aurora of February 4

Abstract

ON Sunday, the 4th inst., was witnessed one of the most magnificent displays of aurora which have been seen in Europe within the past twenty or thirty years. To most observers in this country it appeared equal in magnificence to the two fine aurora seen on Opt. 24 and 25, 1870, and which were especially grand in England; but foreign observers could only compare it with those seen in 1831 and 1836. But if we take all the attendant phenomena into consideration, it will appear that, whilst others may have equalled this one in grandeur and beauty, there is not one which can compare with it either as to the wide extent of country over which it was visible, or as to the strangeness of many of the phenomena by which it was accompanied. The numerous letters which have appeared in these columns the last two weeks show how universally it was noticed in England, Scotland, and Ireland; but in addition to these, the letters and telegrams which have appeared in the daily and weekly papers—both English and foreign—show that it excited attention over a still larger area. It is difficult to trace the exact limits of this area; but when we mention Paris, Cologne, Berlin, Malta, Constantinople, Egypt, and India, it will be seen what a large extent of country is embraced. So far we have seen no account of it as having been visible in the extreme north of Europe, as in Iceland, Norway, Sweden, St. Petersburg, &c, where most auroræ boreales are so well displayed; but, on the contrary, many of the cities in which it was noticed are those which are commonly supposed to be too far south for such phenomena to be seen. The importance of this point will appear later on.