Date of Award

6-1928

Degree Type

Bachelors Essay

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Department

Physics

First Advisor

Charles H. Skinner

Abstract

The Indians wondered if their beloved aurora would return. They watched and philosophized about the dawn, the twilight, the stars and all the phenomena of the heavens. They pondered the mysteries of lightening and thunder. Peoples down through the ages have written poetry about the mighty thunderhead and the lacy cirrus clouds. One by one these mysteries have been solved, but one still remains--the Aurora Polaris. Advances have been made in scientific fields so that we no longer worry whether or not the next day will come. Thunder, to us, is not the voice of an angry god. Rapid strides were made in other fields of meterology, but attempts to explain the secret of this phenomenon have always failed, or nearly so.

Nevertheless, it has attracted its share of the attention of the world, for its beauty is as enticing to the onlooker as it is appealing to scientific interest. No one, unless he has lived all his life in the tropics is unfamiliar with the Aurora. Inhabitants of northern countries have their folk lore concerning it. In the land of the midnight sun, the Aurora often throws light, equal in intensity to that received at times from the sun.

Ancients and moderns have attempted to explain it. We know it was familiar to ancient peoples for Pliny and other writers mention appearances of Auroras.

The Aurora Polaris may be classed into Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis, corresponding to the place of formation,--the north or south pole.

Comments

A Thesis submitted partially to fulfill the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts, College of Liberal Arts, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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