Geomagnetic Solar Storms Like The Carrington Effect Of 1859 Would Be Catastrophic In The Modern Era, Reminding Of The Suns Devastating Potential
It’s happened before, we nearly saw it happen again, and the likelihood of it happening anytime soon is worthy of a look. From the 1859 Carrington Event to what it would do to our lives today.
It was early morning on September 1st, 1859 when Richard Carrington climbed into the private observatory at his country estate outside of London. After cranking open the shutters of the dome to see a clear blue sky, Carrington pointed his telescope toward the sun and began to sketch a cluster of magnificent-sized dark spots freckling the surface. That was when Carrington spotted what he described as “two patches of intensely bright and white light.” Those patches appeared to erupt from the sunspots.
Five minutes after those eruptions the fireballs disappeared. Their effect was felt around the globe just hours later.
By the night of September 1st, 1859, telegraph communications were failing around the world. Reports of sparks shooting from the machines, shocking operators, came from all over the planet. The earth saw colorful auroras…
