History of Geo- and Space Sciences www.hist-geo-space-sci.net 2190-5010 2190-5029 2 1 2011 10.5194/hgss-2-1-2011 http://www.hist-geo-space-sci.net/2/1/2011/ http://www.hist-geo-space-sci.net/2/1/2011/hgss-2-1-2011.html http://www.hist-geo-space-sci.net/2/1/2011/hgss-2-1-2011.pdf 1 28 2011-01-04 Danish auroral science history P. Stauning pst@dmi.dk Senior Scientist (Emeritus) at the Danish Meteorological Institute, Lyngbyvej 100, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark Danish auroral science history begins with the early auroral observations made by the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe during the years from 1582 to 1601 preceding the Maunder minimum in solar activity. Included are also the brilliant observations made by another astronomer, Ole Rømer, from Copenhagen in 1707, as well as the early auroral observations made from Greenland by missionaries during the 18th and 19th centuries. The relations between auroras and geomagnetic variations were analysed by H. C. Ørsted, who also played a vital role in the development of Danish meteorology that came to include comprehensive auroral observations from Denmark, Iceland and Greenland as well as auroral and geomagnetic research. The very important auroral investigations made by Sophus Tromholt are outlined. His analysis from 1880 of auroral observations from Greenland prepared for the significant contributions from the Danish Meteorological Institute, DMI, (founded in 1872) to the first International Polar Year 1882/83, where an expedition headed by Adam Paulsen was sent to Greenland to conduct auroral and geomagnetic observations. Paulsen's analyses of the collected data gave many important results but also raised many new questions that gave rise to auroral expeditions to Iceland in 1899 to 1900 and to Finland in 1900 to 1901. Among the results from these expeditions were 26 unique paintings of the auroras made by the artist painter, Harald Moltke. 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