Notes made by the writer on this occasion record 11.10, red flash
(auroral); 11.22, flash resembling an arch of glowing white surmounted
by a crest of crimson. The display occurred above a low-lying bank of
mist and rose to about five degrees above the horizon. It was not of any
considerable breadth, and resembled rather a glow of color against the
dark background of the sky than a wide band of light. The moon, which
was shining brightly, interfered seriously with the observations of
auroral displays which appeared faint in its light. About 12.15 a mist
appeared to spread over the city, and the air had become damp and
chilly. By 1.30 the mist had cleared away. At 2 o’clock a meteor flashed
across the eastern sky, downward in the direction of the star Gamma in
the constellation Pegasus. It was bluish-green in color, pear-shaped in
appearance, leaving a streak five degrees in length behind it as it
flashed to within ten degrees above the horizon. It remained visible for
about five seconds, and the display was vivid while it lasted. At 2.30
the moon, low down in the western sky, appeared of a ruddy hue as it
“sank in a sea of gloom.”
Turning eastward, we saw a soft glow in the sky spreading from below
Pegasus and upward as far as the stars of Cassiopeia. At 2.34 a glow of
grayish hue extended over the northeastern sky. At 2.43 a bright meteor
was seen by Miss L., but she made no note of its direction, except that
it was eastward, and a brief glimpse obtained by the writer showed its
color as bluish.
At 2.45 streamers, which later proved to be the comet, were observed
reaching from the eastern horizon, below Gamma Pegasi, and curving
upward through Aquarius as far as Altair, and brighter in appearance
than the Milky Way. At its widest part, just beneath the first-magnitude
star Altair, the width of the band was about ten degrees, and throughout
its length it had a brilliancy equal to that of the Milky Way, near
which it terminated. The path of this band of light was very nearly that
along which the comet was last seen, and the writer was convinced that
it was the outer boundary of the tail through which the earth was
passing. Beneath this streamer, and apparently resting along the
southeastern horizon, was a secondary band resembling a haze-like misty
streamer. This was not as clearly defined as was the upper band, and,
moreover, it merged into the mists of the horizon.
In connection with a sketch made by the writer on this occasion, and
shown to Professor Barnard, he referred to it as follows in his account
of “Visual Observations of Halley’s Comet in 1910,” published in the
_Astrophysical Journal_ for June, 1914:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account