From 93 million miles away, the Sun can appear calm and unchanging to the naked eye. Appearances can be misleading, as the Sun is a violent star capable of hurling enormous eruptions of particles and energy into space. On the morning of September 1, 1859, the first dramatic demonstration of this happened when Richard Carringon observed and recorded the first solar flare. It was the beginning of one of the most powerful solar storms in recorded history.
(Credit: NASA/SDO)
The morning of September 1 was clear when Harrington climbed into his private observatory on his country estate to observe and sketch sunspots. As he was watching, and without warning, two intensely bright white lights erupted from the sunspot group. He had just become the first human to record a solar flare. Another astronomer named Richard Hodgson independently observed it. Within hours, strange effects began to appear on Earth. The telegraph network began behaving strangely – currents caused equipment to spark, shocked operators, and disrupted communications. The following night, brilliant auroras illuminated huge portions of the night sky across the planet. Scientists began to realize there was a connection with the flares and these strange phenomena. It became known as the Carrington Event and helped to establish that activity on the Sun could directly influence the Earth’s magnetic environment.
Modern researchers believe the Carrington Event was at least twice as intense as any other geomagnetic storm in the past 500 years. In 1859, the world’s electrical equipment consisted of some telegraph wires. The scene is much different today, with much of civilization dependent on the electrical grid and telecommunications. A storm like that today could cost significant damage, cost and disruption to modern life. The Carrington Event is a reminder that the Earth is part of a much larger system, with hidden connections to seemingly unrelated events all around us.
Another day, another discovery. Browse the On This Day Archive.