An analysis of the Trouvelot’s Auroral Drawing on 1/2 March 1872: Plausible Evidence for Recurrent Geomagnetic Storms

dc.contributor.authorBhaskar, Ankush
dc.contributor.authorHayakawa, Hisashi
dc.contributor.authorOliveira, Denny M.
dc.contributor.authorBlake, Sean
dc.contributor.authorSilverman, Sam M.
dc.contributor.authorEbihara, Yusuke
dc.date.accessioned2020-07-16T16:21:15Z
dc.date.available2020-07-16T16:21:15Z
dc.date.issued2020-06-22
dc.description.abstractThis work examines Trouvelot’s observations and drawing of an auroral display during the night of 1 March 1872. It is known that the auroral oval moves equatorward to mid‐ and even low‐latitudes during large geomagnetic storms. Trouvelot’s graphical record of the great aurora on 1 March 1872 has been often cited as a remarkable example of a mid‐latitude aurora, although it is puzzling that this occurred on a geomagnetically quiet day. Kataoka et al . (2019, JSWSC , 9 , A16) even regarded this as a dating error. Here, we investigate Trouvelot’s descriptions and available geomagnetic measurements in detail. Our analysis shows that the original date of Trouvelot’s auroral drawing is most probably accurate. Moreover, Trouvelot’s descriptions and the observational site show that the auroral visibility fell at the beginning of 2 March 1872 in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Consulting simultaneous variations of magnetograms at Helsinki and Greenwich, we found that the nightside aurora specifically coincides with the initial phase of the storm (substorm) and suggests a close association with a substorm triggered by sudden magnetospheric compression. This case study shows that even short geomagnetic storms can be overlooked in a daily Aa index and they can also cause mid‐latitude aurorae. Moreover, we found ≈ 27‐day intervals between this storm, the extreme storms on 4‐6 February 1872, and another “bright aurora” that was reported on 6 January 1872. Based on their interval, these mid‐latitude aurorae have probably resulted from recurrent solar activity.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipHH thanks New York Public Library and the Royal Astronomical Society (especially Sian Prosser) for providing images of Trouvelot’s auroral drawing and Bernaerts’ sunspot drawing. We thank British Geological Survey (BGS) for providing the Greenwich magnetograms, and WDC for Geomagnetism at Kyoto and the Finnish Meteorological Institute (https://space.fmi.fi/MAGN/magn/Helsinki/H/H.tables/H1872vk.lis) for providing the Helsinki magnetic field data. We thank Colaba Observatory (now administrated by Indian Institute of Geomagnetism, India), Helsinki Observatory, and Greenwich Observatory for the recording of magnetic field measurements. AB is supported by funding from Van Allen Probes Mission and HH is supported by Young Leader Cultivation (YLC) program of Nagoya University, the 2019 Collaborative Research Grants for YLC (grant # YLC2019A02), the Unit of Synergetic Studies for Space of Kyoto University, BroadBand Tower, and JSPS grant-in-aids (JP15H05812 and JP15H05816). SPB is supported by the NASA’s Living With a Star program (17-624 LWS17 2-0042). HH and SMS thank Rachel Rosenblum for her valuable help, considerations, and arrangements during their discussions. The Greenwich magnetogram was digitised using the WebPlotDigitizer software (automeris.io/WebPlotDigitizer)en_US
dc.description.urihttps://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2020JA028227en_US
dc.format.extent42 pagesen_US
dc.genrejournal articles postprintsen_US
dc.identifierdoi:10.13016/m2encu-eakl
dc.identifier.citationAnkush Bhaskar et al., An analysis of the Trouvelot’s Auroral Drawing on 1/2 March 1872: Plausible Evidence for Recurrent Geomagnetic Storms, Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics (2020), https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JA028227en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1029/2020JA028227
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11603/19166
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherAGU Pubicationen_US
dc.relation.isAvailableAtThe University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Goddard Planetary Heliophysics Institute (GPHI)
dc.rightsThis item is likely protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Unless on a Creative Commons license, for uses protected by Copyright Law, contact the copyright holder or the author.
dc.rights©2020 American Geophysical Union. All rights reserved
dc.rightsAccess to this item will begin on 12/22/2020
dc.titleAn analysis of the Trouvelot’s Auroral Drawing on 1/2 March 1872: Plausible Evidence for Recurrent Geomagnetic Stormsen_US
dc.typeTexten_US

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