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Chap. X.]
AURORA AUSTRALIS.
311
1841
nished until we recrossed the line of no variation in lat. 54° 30′ S., and long. 133° 0′ E.
The Aurora Australis was seen at 2 a.m., a broad March 22.band of yellowish light in the north-east. It was again visible at night from nine till near midnight, bearing from N.W. to E. (magnetic), at an altitude of ten degrees, shooting long narrow streamers of colourless light towards the zenith. In the course of the day we passed several bergs of large size; and in the evening we were fortunate in getting good azimuth by means of Sirius and Procyon, by which we found the variation had decreased to 4° 5′ E.
Pursuing our course to the N.W. with a favouring March 23.breeze, our latitude at noon was 62° 12′, longitude 136° 18′; and late in the evening we crossed the line of no variation in latitude 62° 0′ S., and longitude 135° 50′ E. At 7° 20′ p.m. observed a bright arch of the Aurora Australis, W.N.W. and E.S.E., extending across the zenith, of a yellow colour, its edges tinged with a purple hue: in a quarter of an hour the centre of the arch gradually declined to the N.N.E., and disappeared ten degrees above the horizon: a succession of similar arches formed at an altitude of about ten degrees in the S.S.W., their extreme points being also W.N.W. and E.S.E.; the centre of each arch gradually rose towards the zenith, which several of them passed before they disappeared; but generally they became more faint at the altitude of 45°, no longer preserved a regular form, but broke up into small streamers,