Open AccessThe light of the night sky: its intensity variations when analysed by colour filters
Author(s) -
Robert John Strutt
Publication year - 1924
Publication title -
proceedings of the royal society of london. series a, containing papers of a mathematical and physical character
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2053-9150
pISSN - 0950-1207
DOI - 10.1098/rspa.1924.0058
Subject(s) - sky , line (geometry) , intensity (physics) , point (geometry) , night sky , meteorology , remote sensing , computer science , environmental science , geography , mathematics , astronomy , physics , optics , geometry
The light of the night sky has been discussed in previous papers more particularly with reference to the occurrence of the green auroral line. From a spectroscopic point of view this line is the most definite and interesting feature, and it is important to determine how its intensity varies with time, and whether any connection with the solar cycle of eleven years can be traced. It is also important to determine whether other regions in the spectrum the night sky undergo variations, and, if so, whether they are directly connected with the auroral line or not. In this paper methods are given which have been found practicable for attacking these questions, and systematic observations extending over more than a year are recorded. These establish the existence of a number of interesting variations, and seem to open up a wide field; but it will be necessary to pursue them for a good many years before the questions connected with the solar cycle can be answered. An individual worker cannot, of course, rely on being able to complete such a programme, and it seems desirable to record what has been done so far.