Abstract
This chapter analyses the observation and documentation practices of the aurora borealis by the Austro-Hungarian Polar Expedition (1872–4), headed by Carl Weyprecht who later was to initiate the First International Polar Year (1882/3). The focus is on the various attempts to materialize the fleeting phenomenon of the aurora and the different practices that were employed and invested with varying degrees of scientific authority during and after the expedition. The chapter argues that not only did the expedition function as an experiment in a social and cultural way, but also the acts of observing and documenting the aurora functioned as experiments that helped to test the boundaries of science.
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Acknowledgement
The writing of this chapter was partly sponsored by Tromsø Forskningsstiftelse (project “Making Sense of the Aurora: Historical Studies of the Northern Lights in Scientific and Cultural-political Contexts”).
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Spring, U. (2016). Materializing the Aurora Borealis: Carl Weyprecht and Scientific Documentation of the Arctic. In: Klemun, M., Spring, U. (eds) Expeditions as Experiments. Palgrave Studies in the History of Science and Technology. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58106-8_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58106-8_7
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Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-58105-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-58106-8
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