A Meteoric Visitation.

Waipukurau Press, Volume XXVIII, Issue 120, 16 May 1932, Page 5

A Meteoric Visitation.

At 6.9 o’clock last evening a meteor was observed in the heavens by a local resident specially interested in such astronomical demonstrations, between the constellations of Leo and Virgo. Auroral Phenomenon. Gradually shading from blue to a delicate pink and finally changing to a deep red glow, the western sky presented to Dunedin residents late on Thursday afternoon a sight of extraordinary beauty. Beginning shortl? after 5 o’clock when most people were, out of doors, the display o£ natural colour was so striking as' to become a subject of general interest and admiration. It reached the zenith of its beauty when the sky behind the surrounding ,hills became diffused with .a soft pink .glow, extending high into the heavens. This manifestation of Nature in one of her most artistic moods is described by meteorologists as a type of auroral display and is attributed to electrically charged particles probably emanating from the sun, entering the atmosphere surrounding the earth. The phenomenon is fairly common in this latitude, but . since it rarely attains such a degree of brilliance as it did on Thursday evening,. it probably passes in most cases unobserved or is believed to be an unusually beautiful sunset.