Scientific Auroral Experiments Beginning in the Nineteenth Century

Abstract

As the 18 th century came to a close, knowledge about the northern light faced several limiting factors. First of all, the height of the northern light was in great doubt with values all the way from the treetops up to 1,300 km (above the ground). The most convincing or reliable measurements which were undertaken in Sweden, placed the northern light at a height between 350 and 1,300 km with a mean height of around 760 km (Chap. 5.15).