The Why Files
Solar storms: more dangerous than you think. Can we survive another Carrington Event?
2022 • E10 Apr 13, 2022 17m
On September 1, 1859, astronomer Richard Carrington was observing a huge sunspot. Suddenly, a flash of intense white light burst from the sun's surface. He had become the first eye-witness of a major Coronal Mass Ejection or CME. And it was headed straight for earth. Seventeen hours later, the night sky in North America lit up like the day. Aurora Borealis, typically only seen near the north pole, were visible as far south as Colombia. In the southern hemisphere, Aurora Australis were visible North of Brisbane. A few hours later, on September 2, the most powerful solar storm ever recorded crashed into the Earth's atmosphere. Our magnetic field was immediately overpowered and created chaos around the world.