Alfred Angot - Les Aurores Polaires - 1895

The Polar Auroras by Alfred Angot, Meteorologist at the French Central Meteorological Office – with illustrations in the text – Paris, Félix Alcan, 1895

Octavo, 14 x 22 cm, publisher’s full brown cloth binding, gilt title on smooth spine decorated with gilt designs, gilt title on front cover, gilt medallions on the covers, VIII, 318 pages, illustrated with full-page engravings, Catalogue of the International Scientific Library bound in at the end.

A landmark historical scientific work, representing one of the first popular and comprehensive overviews of the subject published in France. Included as volume 80 of the celebrated International Scientific Library, this book provides an in-depth account of late-19th-century knowledge of the northern and southern lights. The book is organized around several major themes in an attempt to explain the phenomenon: a description of the visual displays observed over the centuries. Many of the engravings in the text come directly from observations made during the celebrated 1838–1839 scientific expedition to the North aboard the corvette La Recherche. An analysis of the aurora’s light spectrum (spectroscopy), at a time when its exact connection with the upper atmosphere was only beginning to be explored. A study of the cycles of occurrence and their supposed correlations with meteorology. An analysis of the close relationships between auroras, terrestrial magnetism, and telluric currents. The historical catalog (appendix): one of the most valuable parts of the book is its detailed catalog listing all polar auroras observed in Europe below latitude 55° (and thus visible from temperate regions such as France or Germany) from the year 1700 to 1890.

Alfred Angot (1848–1924) was a brilliant French meteorologist and physicist. Among other roles, he served as director of France’s Central Meteorological Office (BCM). His work on climatology and magnetic disturbances naturally led him to take an interest in solar activity and its luminous effects in Earth’s atmosphere.

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