The Carrington Event: Shock On A Grand Scale

This week marks the 150th anniversary of the Carrington Event, a "geomagnetic mega-storm" that triggered the Northern Lights as far south as parts of Central and South America. This page at the British Geological Survey shows the original recording made at the Greenwich Observatory, London.


The electronic world we live in would be devastated should a similar event occur today. Perhaps anthropogenic climate change should be the least of our worries.

The Spaceweather page was the source for this story. It's a first-rate site worthy of your attention if you have any interest in our planet and its relationship to the Sun. It's a great site for kids, too. The Satellite Flyby tracker has helped me turn family and friends into compulsive sky watchers.