Abstract
IT cannot be doubted that many persons have heard a distinct sound when watching a brilliant display of aurora. Naturally they have connected the two phenomena and have assumed that the sound was emitted by the aurora. Communications regarding the auroral sound appear now and then, and recently Mr. J. H. Johnsen has collected a great number of reports on the auroral sound in his pamphlet, “Concerning the Aurora Borealis”, which has been reviewed in NATURE by Prof. S. Chapman.1 Examining these reports, one finds that the auroral sound, with few exceptions, is described as a weak but distinct swishing or hissing sound which is heard during auroral displays on calm nights and at low air temperatures. I wish to emphasise the fact that the air temperature, in the cases in which it is stated, ranges between -35° F. and -50° F.
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References
"The Audibility and Lowermost Altitude of the Aurora Polaris" NATURE, March 7, 1931, p. 341.
Handb. d. Klimatologie, Bd. 3, 3. Aufl., Stuttgart, 1911, p. 643.
Wiss. Ergb. d. Dan. Expd., 1912-13, Abt. 2, Meteorologie, Copenhagen, 1930, p. 496.
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SVERDRUP, H. Audibility of the Aurora Polaris. Nature 128, 457 (1931). https://doi.org/10.1038/128457b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/128457b0
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