Aurora of November 17, 1882

The Aurora of November 17, 1882 was a geomagnetic storm and associated aurora event, widely reported in the media of the time. It occurred during an extended period of strong geomagnetic activity in solar cycle 12.

The event is particularly remembered in connection with an unusual phenomenon, an "auroral beam", which was observed from the Royal Observatory, Greenwich by astronomer Edward Walter Maunder and by John Rand Capron from Guildown, Surrey.

The magnetic storm that caused the brilliant auroral display of November 1882 was reported in the New York Times and other newspapers as having an effect on telegraph systems, which were rendered useless in some cases. The Savannah Morning News reported that "the switchboard at the Chicago Western Union office was set on fire several times, and much damage to equipment was done. From Milwaukee, the 'volunteer electric current' was at one time strong enough to light up an electric lamp". Measurements taken in the United Kingdom, where the telegraph also was affected, indicated that a telluric current five times stronger than normal was present.

During the event, bright auroral phenomena were recorded from across the world, including several observations from polar latitudes, thanks to the event occurring during the First International Polar Year. In one case, two members of the ill-fated Greely polar expedition, including the astronomer, Edward Israel, while observing at Fort Conger near the north magnetic pole, instinctively ducked to avoid an aurora described as "as bright as the full moon".

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