Epic Tales of the Aurora Through History

[Randy Zipser]

Since the recent thread about the aurora event earlier this month has received a lot of interest from ST readers, I thought you might enjoy reading this BBC story about how the aurora has been explained throughout history. Please see link below:

'The fate of nations and the fall of kingdoms': History's epic theories of what causes aurora

 

[Warren Faidley]

There is a theory that the Titanic was slightly off course (or other navigational errors) when it hit the iceberg because of a well-documented magnetic storm and multiple sightings of the aurora that night.

 

[Randy Zipser]

There is a theory that the Titanic was slightly off course (or other navigational errors) when it hit the iceberg because of a well-documented magnetic storm and multiple sightings of the aurora that night.

Interesting that you mention that, Warren. A similar question has also been raised about the sinking of the freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior on the night of November 10, 1975. According to Google AI, an auroral event was not known to have been occurring at the time of the sinking, so navigational/radio transmission problems due to an aurora were unlikely; however, a ferocious storm was occurring with twenty-foot high waves, and that was determined to have contributed to the fate of the ship and the loss of its 29 crew members. It is also an interesting coincidence that this month's massive auroral event was nearly fifty-years ago to the day of that event.

 

[Warren Faidley]

I'm of the belief it was a “hogging" or "sagging” wave. The weather that day and reports from other ships support this theory, as does the wreckage.

 

[Randy Zipser]

I'm of the belief it was a “hogging" or "sagging” wave. The weather that day and reports from other ships support this theory, as does the wreckage.

Fascinating; I was not aware of that and looked up the definitions of hogging and sagging hulls. Shifting of the freight weight due to the gales and 20-foot waves all may have resulted in one of those hull configurations. Either way, we can be sure that no aurora was at fault...