AURORA BOREALIS

Waipa Post, Volume 52, Issue 3705, 10 January 1936, Page 8

AURORA BOREALIS

NORWEGIANS STUDYING INTRICACIES The Christian Science Monitor’s Tromso (Norway) Correspondent reports that in the observatory there Norwegian natural scientists are studying the intricacies of the aurora borealis, the hanging curtains of colour which drape the northern skies. The work is being carried on under the guidance of the Norwegian Institute of Cosmic Physics. The director of the observatory is Prof. L. Harang. But the studies of these research scientists were made possible by international co-operation, the observatory here having been built with the did of the Rockefeller Foundation oy means of a grant supplied by the International Education Board. The chief researches undertaken by the observatory are the position and spectrum of the aurora borealis, the study of the higher strata of the atmosphere, terrestrial magnetism and radio wave echo research. Connection Indicated The aurora borealis is still much )f a mystery and studies indicate a connection with electricity and magnetism. Researches regarding radio wave echos, the magnetism of the earth and the aurora borealis are three-sided and it is hoped that the study of each will add to the knowledge of the others. Professor Harang and his colleagues are making a study of the temperature in the region of the northern curtains of light. These measurements of temperature are obtained through the help of the spectrum of the borealis. Tromso is considered an ideal place for the study of the northern problems. Weather conditions, possibility of clear skies, situation near the auroral zone and the fact that Tromso is the capital of northern Norway mean that the observers are placed in a good position both in view of their studies and their comfort. Adequate Equipment The observatory comprises five buildings, a main laboratory, a house for magnetic records, one for absolute measurements, a small telescope pavilion and a dwelling house. The laboratory for magnetic research has been built to keep at an even temperature throughout. It is really two houses in one, the inner made of wood, and separated from the outer by a corridor permitting free circulation of air. The outer shell is made of a wood frame filled with bricks of turf. In determining the altitude of auroral lights Tromso and two near-by stations take simultaneous photographs.