The end of the world as we know it?

Could a solar storm take modern society back to the dark ages?

This week I went to get a sneak preview of the new exhibition at the Science Museum in London. The Sun: Living with our Star explores our love (and fear) relationship with this enormously powerful force that sustains all life on Earth, but could also destroy us all.

As a tech person, however, what really grabbed be here was the idea of something in between. Not the total annihilation that must eventually come as our star — like all others eventually dies — but the havoc that a solar storm would cause to a human race that’s become entirely dependent on electricity.

One of the displays at the exhibition showcased some humble-looking drawings by amateur Astronomer Richard Carrington. They record his observation of solar spots, which indicate the occurrence of explosions on the surface of the sun called Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) and the one he happened to observe is the largest on record to this day.