Third edition of a work on the aurora borealis originally published in 1733. "Mairan . . . attributed the phenomenon to an extension of the Sun's atmosphere, which at times, he supposed, enveloped the Earth, and blended with our atmosphere. The zodiacal light was similarly accounted for. Mairan also attempted some estimate of the height of the auroral disturbances"—Wolf II, 305. BEA, page 727; DSB IX, 33-34.
