EDITOR'S NOTES (25 July 1996): A supplemental list of data found in "Supplement of the Catalogue of Polar Aurorae <55N in the Period 1000- 1900" and text were added to the original list. EDITOR's NOTES (30 May 1996): The digitization of these data were part of a data rescue project funded by the NOAA Earth Systems Data and Information Management (ESDIM) program and the NASA Space Physics Data System (SPDS) Data Set Preservation and Supply program (NASA 01026). Data were key entered using ESDIM funds and processed and quality controlled using NASA SPDS funds. Reproduced (with some minor changes) with permission from Dr. L. Krivsky: Please note that additional data from "Supplement of the Catalogue of Polar Aurorae <55N in the Period 1000-1900" by Ladislav Krivsky will be combined with the original database in the near future, bringing the total listing to about 5,000 auroral events. PUBLICATIONS OF THE ASTRONOMICAL INSTITUTE OF THE CZECHOSLOVAK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Publication No. 75 SOLAR ACTIVITY, AURORAE AND CLIMATE IN CENTRAL EUROPE IN THE LAST 1000 YEARS by L. Krivsky and K. Pejml (1988) PART II WORLD LIST OF POLAR AURORAE < 55 AND THEIR SECULAR VARIATIONS II-1. SUMMARY CATALOGUE OF OCCURRENCE OF AURORAE <55 N IN THE PERIOD 1000 - 1900 The small supplement in Part 1 of this work and all the published and available catalogues and sets of aurorae observed in extrapolar regions were used to compile a summary catalogue to make available data for the most varied objectives. The catalogue contains 3,878 northern aurorae. In a number of papers by J. A. Eddy of recent years [1] the auroral data has been drawn from the limited material of the catalogue published by H. Fritz [2], because it was the most extensive and covered the period from -503 to 1872. The abundant data given in a number of partial catalogues, published within the last thirty years, were taken into account. Since the study of long-term changes in solar activity in the past has again become a topical scientific problem, the authors are presenting a summary of auroral data for the years 1000 to 1900 in one extensive table, giving references not of the original source in each case, but to the catalogue or summary in which a particular aurora was mentioned. The authors of the catalogue attempted to give the data of the aurorae up to 1581 inclusive according to the old Julian calendar, and from 1582 according to the new Gregorian calendar. The aggregate difference in the dates around this change in dating amounted to 10 days. Unfortunately, the dating was not changed and adopted in all countries of the then cultured world at the same time; in fact in some countries the old calendar dating was used in some regions for varying periods of time, depending on the influence the church had. This disunity resulted in uncertainty and confusion in dating some of the recorded natural phenomena. With regard to this dating problem, F. Link [3] wrote: "In the 17th century, the Gregorian calendar, introduced by the Catholic Church on 6/16 October, 1583, was used as well as the old Julian calendar, to which the non-Catholic countries kept until the end of the century, and England even until 1752. This necessarily causes uncertainty of dates and risk of duplicity. Any pair of observations, differing by 10 days and originating in different regions, is suspect of duplicity." Since phenomena which may but need not have been aurorae were described in the past centuries, the authors of catalogues must have considerable experience to be able to distinguish, on the basis of the description, whether a fireball, meteoric shower, noctilucent clouds, twilight phenomena, etc., had not been mistaken for an aurora. That is why authors of this catalogue did not adopt all the occurrences of aurorae, given by the authors of the partial catalogues or sets of their observations. This applies particularly to H. Fritz's catalogue [2], which evidently, as already discussed earlier also by other authors, contains erroneous records of phenomena other than aurorae especially in the past three centuries. This is indicated by the fact alone that, according to H. Fritz, there would be more days with aurorae that without them in some of the longer intervals of several months. This also applies to aurorae at latitudes of less than 55 . This is clearly illogical. The authors adopted the occurrences of aurorae on the basis of the following criteria: possible recurrence after roughly 27 days, roughly since 1792 (and partly also before) auroral data were adopted provided there was guarantee that they were simultaneously observed in a larger geographical region. i.e. provided they were recorded at a number of stations in Region I or II (i.e. Europe), or in Region I or II and at the same time in Region IV (i.e. America). Fritz's [2] division into regions is as follows: I - south of 46, II - between 46 and 55 , III - from 55 to the polar circle, IV - America south of 60 , V - high latitudes. If the source of an auroral observation given by H. Fritz [2] was also given by another author, the latter has been mentioned. If the authors of the partial catalogues or sets of observations recorded the occurrence of an observed phenomenon with the interpretation "aurora" according to the degree of certainty or uncertainty, the authors of this catalogue adopted the aurora with the higher decrees of certainty (this applies, e. g. to the catalogue of M. Keimatsu, [4]). Even so, in spite of all the criteria applied and all the existence, a small percentage of phenomena included as aurorae need not have in fact been aurorae and, on the contrary, a small percentage of aurorae omitted, e. g. from H. Fritz's catalogue [2] may have actually been aurorae. The authors tried to include only those aurorae which occurred at or extended to northern latitudes of less that 55 ; this latitudinal limit was adopted from Fritz's catalogue because most of the adopted aurorae, even after critical analysis, originated with H. Fritz. This author was already aware that the occurrence of aurorae in mid and low geographic latitudes was a qualitatively different phenomenon, that the very frequent occurrence of aurorae at latitudes of over 55 degrees would not characterize the level of activity of the actual causal source of aurorae, which were already known then, that the occurrence of aurorae at latitudes below 55 degrees is connected with geomagnetic storms at mid-latitudes and it is quite frequently time-related to the occurrence of extensive sunspot groups on the solar disk. In an attempt to preserve homogeneity, the aurorae observed towards the end of the whole period, including those from the southern mid-latitudes, were not taken into account; the sources of data thus originate in the same geographic region (Europe, Asia, North Africa) during roughly the whole period, only North America being an exception. II-2. NOTES ON THE FORMAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE CATALOGUE o An aurora on one night, although it may have occurred before and after midnight (i. e. on two dates according to the new reckoning of a calendar day) is only mentioned under one date (usually the date of its beginning). o The full date of every aurora is given as far as possible; if the day or month is missing, the source lacked these data. o If the year, month or day is in parentheses, it is uncertain, although very probable. o If two data are given, separated by a comma, in parentheses next to the month, but more frequently the day, the aurora was not observed on the two days but the date is uncertain and involves one of the two days (or months). o If another month or day is given in parentheses, the more probable date is the one without the parentheses. o If there is a hyphen between the month or day data, the aurora occurred in the interval between the two. o If the date as a whole is in parentheses, the reality of the observation cannot be fully guaranteed. The reference concerning a phenomenon adopted from a source (or catalogue) is given in the catalogue in the form of the abbreviation of the source or catalogue in question; references to literature according to abbreviations follow: B BOTLEY C. M.: Some Great Tropical Aurorae. J. British Astr. Assoc. 67, 1957, 188. BOTLEY C. M.: Aurora in S. W. Asia 1097 - 1300. J. British Astr. Assoc. 74, 1964, 293. Ba BARNARD E. E.: Observations of the Aurora made at the Yerkes Observatory, 1897-1902. Astrophys. J. 16, 1902, 135. BF Bulletin de la Societe Astronomique de France, 1895 - 1907. (Excerpts prepared by L. Krivsky). D DALL' OLMO U.: An Additional List of Auroras from European Sources from 450 to 1466 A.D., J. Geophys. Res. 84, 1979, 1525. F FRITZ H.: Verzeichniss beobachteter Polarlichter. C. Gerold’s Sohn, Wien 1873. JB Journal of the British Astronomical Association, 1890 - 1976. (Excerpts prepared by L. Krivsky) JZ JIN L., ZENG Z.: A chronology of ancient aurorae observed in China. Academia Sinica Peking. Preprint 1982. K KEIMATSU MITSUO: A Chronology of Aurorae and Sunspots Observed in China, Korea and Japan (VII). Ann. Sci. Kanazawa Univ. 13,1976,1. L1 LINK F.: Observations et catalogue des aurores boreales apparues en occident de -626 a 1600. Trav. de l'Inst. Geophys. de l'Acad. Tchecoslov. des Sci. No. 173 (1962) Praha 1963, 297. L2 LINK F.: Observations et catalogue des aurores boreales apparues en occident de 1601 a 1700. Trav. de l'Inst. Geophys. de l'Acad. Tchecoslov. des Sci. No 212 (1964), Praha 1965, 501. L3 LINK F.: Astronomicke zpravy v kronice vysehradskeho kanovnika. Ceskosl. cas. hist. 9, 1961, 559. M MATSUSHITA S.: Ancient Aurorae Seen in Japan, J. Geophys. Res. 61, 1956, 297. Mo MOSSMAN R. C.: The Aurora Borealis in London from 1707 to 1895, J. of the Scottish Meteorological Soc., Ser. III, Vol. XI, Nos XIII - XVI, March 1898, 58. N NEWTON R. R.: Medievel Chronicles and the Rotation of the Earth. Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, Baltimore 1972. P PEJML K., KRIVSKY L.: Unknown Observations of Aurorae from Bohemia (Part I of the Solar Activity, Aurorae, and Climate in Central Europe, in the Last 1000 Years). 1980, unpublished. See also Part I of this Publication No 606 Krivsky L., Pejml. K. R RETHLY A., BERKES Z.: Nordlichtbeobachtungen in Ungarn (1523 - 1960). Ung. Akad. d. Wissensch. Budapest 1963. S SEYDL O.: A List of 402 Northern Lights Observed in Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia from 1013 till 1951. Trav. de l'Inst. Geophys. de l'Acad. Tchecoslov. des Sci., No 17 (1954), Praha, 1955, 159. Sc SCHODER W.: Auroral Frequency in the 17th and 18th Centuries and Maunder Minimum. J. Atm. Terr. Phys. , 41, 1979, 445. Sch SCHOVE D. J.: English Aurorae of A. D. 1660/61, J. Brit. Astr. Assoc., 62, 1951, 38. SCHOVE D. J.: London Aurorae of A. D 1661, J. Brit. Astr. Assoc. 63, 1953, 266. SH SCHOVE D. J., HO P. Y.: Chinese Aurorae: I, A.D.1048 - 1070, J. Brit. Astr. Assoc. 69, 1959, 295. Sp SPILGER L.: Markus zum Lamm (1544 - 1606) als Meteorologe, Zeitschr. f. angw. Meteorologie 56, 1939, 371. T TYLDESLEY J. B.: Gilbert White and the Aurora, J. Brit. Astr. Assoc., 86. 1976, 214. V VYSSOTSKY A. N.: Astronomical Records in the Russian Chronicles from 1000 to 1600 A.D. (as Collected by D. O. Sviatsky). Medd. Lunds Astr. Obs. II-126, 1949, 40. SUPPLEMENTAL LIST (added 7/25/96) Br BREZAN VACLAV:Zivoty poslednich Rozmberku (I,II). Svoboda, Praha 1985. DC DAI N., CHEN M.: Table of aurorae observed in China, Korea and Japan from historic time to AD 1747. Kejeshi Wenji (Papers on the History of Science and Technology), Shanghai, 6, 1980, 87. Ju JURENDES Mahrischer Wanderer. Ein Geschafts und ... auf das Jahr 1823. Brunn 1822, 12, p. 78. FP FRANTISEK PRAZSKY: Kronika, in: Kroniky doby Karla IV, Svoboda, Praha 1987. (Franciscus Pragensis, 1353). KLP KRAKOVETSKY YU.K., LOISHA V.A., POPOV L.N.: The Mauder minimum, new evidence II. Issled. po magn. aeron. i fizike solntsa, 77, Moscow Nauka 1987, p. 182. KV KANOVNIK VYSEHRADSKY: Letopis Kanovnika Vysehradskeho, in: Pokracovatele Kosmovi, Svoboda, Praha 1974. (Canonicorum Pragensium Continuatio Cosmae, 1142). Le LEHMANS CH. Sen.: Historisher Schauplatz derer naturlichen Merchwurdigkeiten in dem Meissnischen Ober-Ertzgebirge ..., Leipzig 1699, Cap., XIX Lo LOISHA V.A., NADUBOVICH YU.A., POPOV L.N.: The frequency of occurrence of auroras in the X-XVIII centuries according to data from russian chronicles. Issled. Geomagn. Aeronom. Fiz. Sol. (Sib. IZMIR) 66, Moskva 1983, p.111. Loo LOOMIS E.: Comparison of the mean daily range of the magnetic declination and the number of auroras observed each year, with the extent of the black spots on the surface of the sun. Am. Jour,. Sci. Arts, Ser. III, Vol. V, No 28, 1873, 245. Ma MAKO P.: Dissertationes Physicae, Tupis Regiae Universitatis Budae, 1781. MB MAREK BYDZOVSKY (z Florentina): Chronicle Notes of Czech. Svoboda, Praha 1987. Pa PAPROCKY BARTOLOMEJ (z Hlahol): O valce turecke a jine pribehy. Odeon, Praha 1982. (Diadochos id est successio, ginak poslaupnost Knijzat a Kraluvo Czeskych ..., Bartholomege Paprockeho z Glagol a z Paprocke wule, 1602). Sc1 SCHRODER W.: Auroral frequency in the 17th and 18th centuries and Maunder minimum. J.Atm.Terr. Phys. 41, 1979, 445. Sc2 SCHRODER W.: Katalog deutscher Polarlichtbeobachtungen fur die Jahr 1882- 1956. Gerl. Beitr. Geophys. 75, 1966, 436; 76, 1967, 195. Tsh TSHISTYAKOV V.: Private comm. on the basis of the old data from Rossia- Polnoye Sobranie Russkikh Letopisey, Akad. Nauk USSR, Moscow. II-4. LONG-TERM VARIATION OF OCCURRENCE OF POLAR AURORAE FROM 1000 TO 1900 IMPLYING CHANGES OF SOLAR ACTIVITY Attention to the secular variation of solar activity in the years 1000 - 1848 has been paid in the treatment of historical observations of big sunspots (seen with naked eye), further of aurorae in our catalogue (in the preliminary version) and used results by M. Stuiver [5] on variation of the 14C (Carbon 14) isotope in tree-rings of old trees (Krivsky [6]). The results in this paper differ only slightly from definitive results about aurorae presented here for the period 1000 - 1900. During the whole period 1000 - 1900 3,878 days with auroras <55 N were confirmed, however, due to the civilization factors only 322 were observed from the year 1000 to 1499 (roughly to the beginning of effect of letter print). As a result of civilization factors the series is considerably inhomogeneous, although all the maxima and minima (see Fig. 1, the bottom curve), similar to those on the sunspot (Krivsky [6]) and 14C-curves (Fig. 1), can be seen on the curve of aurora days for the forty-year intervals which were not homogenized. We shall inquire into the civilization factors affecting the amount of observations and attempt to homogenize the series by defining them. The increase in the number of preserved reports of the occurrence of auroras is influenced by a number of factors, some of which act gradually, others very rapidly. There is the factor of the increasing number of chroniclers and popular scripturalists, and their contact with observers; the factor of increasing probability that chronicles and records will be preserved with time (both apply to the period 1000-1500); the letter-print factor acted rapidly (more frequent records of reports on events, together with more probability of conserving them until the present); enhanced interest in natural phenomena in connection with the Renaissance, with traveling and discovery developed more slowly; founding of stations and observatories, and their records, the use of printed calendars, newspapers and the higher informativeness associated with them, as well as the possibility of transmitting news from a larger area into the conservation centre (for recording in a chronicle or printing) all had a quick and substantial effect. Events of war in the main cultural centres of human society had a negative and temporary effect. The positive factors listed above are responsible for gradual, as well a rapid, irregular increases in the number of reports on conspicuous events such as the aurora. In an attempt to homogenize the series of data, it was assumed that nearly all auroras were recorded roughly after 1700 (or 1720). The printing factor of the letter-print came to bear after the year 1500. The factors will be at roughly the same level during the period from the year 1000 to 1500 (see the bottom unreduced curve in Fig. 1 in printed article). Drawing on the factors mentioned above, the number of observations were adjusted by period as follows: the forty-year sums of series "a" (beginning in the year 1000) for the period 1000-1479 were multiplied by the factor 14.3, for the period 1480-1559 by the factor 6.2, for the period 1560-1719 by the factor 3.1, no adjustment after 1720 to 1879; the forty-year sums of series "b" (beginning with the year 1020) for the period 1020-1499 multiplied by the factor 14.3, for the period 1500-1539 by the factor 6.2, for the period 1540-1699 by the factor 3.1, no adjustment after 1700 to 1899. Description of the method for construction of curve for the manifestation of secular variations: Forty-year sums of two series were made as in the case of big sunspots (in Krivsky [6]); one series began with the year 1000 (a), the other with the year 1020 (b). The resultant curve (Fig. 1) was constructed from 1/2[SUM(40a) + SUM(40b)], (in each case from values adjacent in time), and the value obtained was located at the time centre between the single values SUM(40a) and SUM(40b), so that simple gliding and smoothing were ensured. The resultant curve is marked "polar aurora, homogenized" in Fig. 1. II-5. SECULAR MAXIMA AND MINIMA The maxima "M" of the second millennium "2" are marked on the curve of aurorae (Fig. 1) in the order they occurred in the millennium: M2-1 is a very conspicuous maximum around the year 1130, the subsidiary M2-2 is in the descending phase following M2-1 around the year 1190, the next M2-3, quite sharp but of short duration, around the year 1370, another smaller one M2-4 around the year 1610, the next M2-5 in 1720-1780 and the last M2-6 around 1860. The minima "m" of the second millennium "2" are also marked in the order they occurred in the millennium: m2-1 around 1040, the second subsidiary m2-2 (on the downslope) occurred about 1160, the third m2-3 is broader and is located between the years 1270-1330, the fourth m2-4 is between the years 1410-1500 (referred to as Sporer's), the fifth m2-5 (referred to as Maunder's) about the year 1670, the further m2-6 around the year 1820 and the last m2-7 after 1880. The interval of extremes M2-1, m2-2 and M2-2 (1100-1220) as a whole could also be considered one large maximum with a subsidiary minimum m2-2. II-6. DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS The existence of the individual secular maxima and minima of the polar aurora is indubitable with a view to the behaviour of the other indices, big sunspots (in [6]) and 14C (Fig. 1), and the roughly quantitative characteristics of these extremes are most probably also real. The comparison of the polar aurora with the 14C-curve with reversed scale (Stuiver [5]), on which the location of the extremes agrees also with those on the "big sunspot" curve (in Krivsky [6]), indicates that the long-term fluctuations of the variable incidence of modulated level of cosmic radiation at the Earth's atmosphere and the resulting variable production of 14C (conserved in tree-rings) within the millennium are caused by the condition of solar activity as the primary process [7]; disturbances in the Earth's magnetosphere and high atmosphere (which is represented by the curve of aurora occurrence) are derived which logically corresponds to the well-known mechanism of the causal sequence of the individual complex process. These results, founded on the statistical treatment of long series of data, agree with individual processes and mechanism, known earlier: large sunspot groups on the Sun with flares which implies magnetoplasmic clouds from the Sun into interplanetary space which implies these decrease the level of cosmic radiation penetrating to the Earth which in turn decreases the production of 14C in the Earth's atmosphere - the clouds from the Sun simultaneously interact and disturb the Earth's magnetosphere and thus create conditions for the generation of auroras [8]. Authors would like to thank Prof. Naoshi Fukushima of University of Tokyo for his kind recommendations and exceptional interest. A note added in proofs (July 1988): During the last years the present Catalogue of polar aurorae has been supplemented. Today it lists about 5000 polar aurorae. The supplement will be published. The Catalogue was used to study periodicities (9). Several tens of copies of the Catalogue have been sent to scientists who asked for it. REFERENCES [1] J.A. EDDY: The Maunder Minimum. Science 192 (1976),1189. [2] H. FRITZ: Verzeichniss beobachteter Polarlichter. Gerol's Sohn, Wien, 1873. [3] F. LINK: Observations et catalogue des aurores boréales apparues en occident de 1601 a 1700. Travaux Inst. Geophys. Acad. Tchecosl. Sci. No 212, Geofysikalni sbornik 1964, Academia, Praha 1965. [4] M. KEIMATSU: A Chronology of Aurorae and Sunspots Observed in China, Korea and Japan (VII). Ann. Sci. Kanazawa Univ., 13 (1976), 1. [5] M. STUIVER: Solar Variability and Climatic Change During the Current Millennium. Nature 286 (1980), 868. [6] L. KRIVSKY: Long-term Fluctuations of Solar Activity During the Last Thousand Years. Sol. Phys. 93 (1984), 189. [7] Y. C. LIN, C. Y. FAN, P. E. DAMON, E. J. WALLICK: Long Term Modulation of Cosmic-Ray Intensity and Solar Activity Cycle. 14th Int. Cosmic Ray Conf., 3 (1975), 995. [8] S. FISCHER, L. KRIVSKY: Solar Effects on the Cosmic Radiation at the Vostok Station - September 1963. Bull Astron. Inst. Czechosl., 16 (1965), 316. [9] I. CHARVATOVA-JAKUBCOVA, J. STRESTIK, L. KRIVSKY: The periodicity of aurorae in the years 1001-1900. Studie Geophys. Geod. 32 (1988), 70. SUPPLEMENTAL REFERENCES (added 7/25/96) [1] KRIVSKY L., PEJML K.: Solar Activity, Aurorae and Climate in Central Europe in the Last 100 Years. Travaux Geophys. XXXIII (1985) - Trav. de l'Inst. Geophys. de l'Acad. Tchecoslov. des Sci. No 606, p. 77. [2] KRIVSKY L., PEJML K.: Solar Activity, Aurorae and Climate in Central Europe in the Last 1000 Years. Publ. Astr. Inst. Czechoslov. Ac. Sci. No 75, 1988. [3] LEGRAND J.P., LE GOFF M., MAZAUDIER C., SCHRODER W.: Solar and auroral activities during the seventeenth century. In: Solar-Terrestrial Variability and Global Change, eds. W. Schroder, J.P. Legrand, Symp. Interdiv. Comm. on History of the Inter. Ass. of Geomagn. and Aeronomy (Viena 1991), Bremen 1992, p. 40. [4] FRITZ H.: Verzeichniss beobachteter Polarlichter. C. Gerold's Sohn, Wien 1873. APPENDIX: (added 5/25/96) SUPPLEMENT OF THE CATALOGUE OF POLAR AURORAE <55N IN THE PERIOD 1000-1900 by Ladislav Krivsky Astronomical Institute Acad. Sci. Czech Republic 251 65 Ondrejov Czech Republic printed in Travaux Geophysiques, XXXVII (1993-96), 1-21. SUMMARY The supplement contains corrections and new data of the past observation of north polar aurorae (<55 degrees). In the monography Solar Activity, Aurorae and Climate in Central Europe in the Last 1000 Years (Krivsky and Pejml 1985, 1988) we have also published the Part II - World List of Polar Aurorae < 55N and their Secular Variations [1,2]. This supplement presented contains corrections and new data about occurrences of north polar aurorae (<55 degrees). New data are based predominantly on the two Catalogues, i.e. of Loomis (LOO) and of Schroder (SC2). In the Catalogue Loo are collected the aurorae which were observed in North America. New data sources with their abbreviations are referenced. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Tables of deletions, corrections and additions followed. These data have been incorporated into the original database. The supplemental list of source references is appended above with the original source list. The list of supplemental References is appended above with the original Reference list.] Notes The knowledge that the observation of the aurora in the latitudes <55 degrees are connected with important events of solar activity was accepted earlier. The last results by Legrand et al. [3] about relation between the number of aurorae at zenith and geomagnetic latitude of observations in the time interval of 11 years demonstrates that aurorae connected with shock waves occur in the limits from 66 degrees to 51 degrees N. This result improve the favourable limitation of 55 degrees used by Fritz in 1873 [4], which is also assumed in our catalogue.