Observations of the aurora australis, Byrd Antarctic Expedition, 1929

Observations of both the aurora borealis and australis indicate the existence of an auroral zone in each hemisphere and a belt of maximum activity within these zones. In the northern hemisphere this belt is situated some 23° from the point in which the axis of the uniform magnetic field of the Earth meets the surface. This point is not the magnetic pole, however, but is situated some hundreds of miles from it. Analysis of the auroral records of antarctic expeditions shows that a similar distribution of auroral frequency occurs in the southern hemisphere, though the data are insufficient to establish the position of the maximum activity‐belt as accurately as is the case in the northern hemisphere.