630300Aurora2_p2

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AURORA Bulletin No, 2 (cont'd.)


a small area of the sky (such as those who can not see the northern sky) can report
on those parts of the sky that they can see and which are free of aurora. These
casual and partial reports can later be pieced together by the local recorder and
often the Centre will thereby be able to report "no aurora in clear sky" from a
composite of several of these negative views of the incomplete sky.

THE N.R.C. SURVEY OF AURORA

    For information regarding observation of the aurora in co-operation with the
National Research Council's Auroral Survey, write to:-

                             Auroral Centre,
                             National Research Council,
                             Ottawa 2, Ontario,

A supply of report forms, mailing envelopes and instructions is available on request.

    The value of all positive observations of aurora can not be over-estimated, but
it must be remembered that negative ob…ervations are also very useful in the N.R.C.
auroral survey. To be most useful, negative observations should be made between
five minutes prior to the hour and five minutes after the hour. Made within this
ten minute interRal the data are easiest to handle in the N.R.C. data system, but
reports of "sky clear, no aurora" are valuable regardless of what time they are
made. Negative observations can be made with cloud cover approaching 40% of the sky,
especially when the northern sky or the north-south meridian is free from cloud.
The reporting of the presence, or absence, of aurora in the sky is important, so
keep looking!

    Since the study of aurora is often interfered with by cloud cover, even occas-
ional reports made when the sky is clear and when it is convenient for the observer
to make out a report can serve as very useful data. A regular observer may be
clouded aut and unable to report on the very night when you CAN observe. It may
be YOUR report that fills the gap. So keep looking! And remember that "Nothing is
as good as Something so far as aurora is concerned".

    I would be pleased to discuss methods of supplementing the N R C observing
programme for use in your local Centre. I have a very small supply of types of
report forms already in use for both negative and positive reporting programmes as
well as information concerning how to use observing data to make conclusions regard-
ing location and frequency of auroral displays. I shall be pleased to hear from
your group.

    Thanking you for your co-operation, I am,

                                            your National Co-ordinator

NOTE:                                              Earl Milton
Present Address
    Apt. 17,
    729 Cooper Street,
    Ottawa 4, Ontario.

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