Carrington event

Extracted Attributes

• Date

  1859-09-01 to 1859-09-02

• Type

  Geomagnetic storm

• Cause

  Powerful solar flare and Coronal Mass Ejection (CME)

• Intensity

  Most intense in recorded history

• Observed by

  Richard Carrington, Richard Hodgson

• Solar Cycle

  Solar cycle 10

• Estimated Frequency

  Once every 100 to 1000 years (based on a 2024 study)

• Modern Impact (Economic)

  Crippling economic losses, up to $2.6 trillion in lost revenue for North American power industry alone (Lloyd's of London 2013 study), global blackouts up to years long

• Modern Impact (Electrical)

  Widespread electrical disruptions, blackouts, damage to electrical power grid, high-voltage electrical transformers overheating

• Modern Impact (Communication)

  Widespread communication failures

• Proposed Solution for Future Events

  Photon-based computing

Timeline

• Richard Carrington and Richard Hodgson independently observe a very bright solar flare, marking the first records of a solar flare. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1859-09-01

• The Carrington Event, the most intense geomagnetic storm in recorded history, begins to peak. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1859-09-01

• Strong auroral displays are reported globally due to the geomagnetic storm. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1859-09-01

• The Carrington Event continues to peak, causing electrical disturbances, including sparking and fires in telegraph stations. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1859-09-02

• The Baltimore American and Commercial Advertiser reports on the effects of the solar storm. (Source: web_search_results)

  1859-09-03

• British insurance giant Lloyd's of London publishes a study estimating potential economic losses from a Carrington-level event, projecting up to $2.6 trillion in lost revenue for the North American power industry alone. (Source: web_search_results)

  2013

• A study published in the journal Space Weather, based on digitized magnetic field recordings from 1859, estimates that Carrington-level events likely occur once every 100 to 1000 years. (Source: web_search_results)

  2024-02-29

• The All-In Podcast discusses the potential threat of a future Carrington event-level storm to electron-based infrastructure and suggests photon-based computing as a long-term solution. (Source: related_documents)

  Recent

Carrington Event

The Carrington Event was the most intense geomagnetic storm in recorded history, peaking on 1–2 September 1859 during solar cycle 10. It created strong auroral displays that were reported globally and caused sparking and even fires in telegraph stations. The geomagnetic storm was most likely the result of a coronal mass ejection (CME) from the Sun colliding with Earth's magnetosphere. The geomagnetic storm was associated with a very bright solar flare on 1 September 1859. It was observed and recorded independently by British astronomers Richard Carrington and Richard Hodgson—the first records of a solar flare. A geomagnetic storm of this magnitude occurring today has the potential to cause widespread electrical disruptions, blackouts, and damage to the electrical power grid.

Web Search Results

• Carrington Event - Wikipedia

  The Carrington Event was the most intense geomagnetic storm in recorded history, peaking on 1–2 September 1859 during solar cycle 10. It created strong auroral displays that were reported globally and caused sparking and even fires in telegraph stations. The geomagnetic storm was most likely the result of a coronal mass ejection (CME) from the Sun colliding with Earth's magnetosphere. [...] 33. ^ Hudson, Hugh S. (2021). "Carrington Events". Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics. 59: 445–477. Bibcode "Bibcode (identifier)"):2021ARA&A..59..445H. doi "Doi (identifier)"):10.1146/annurev-astro-112420-023324. ISSN "ISSN (identifier)") 0066-4146. S2CID "S2CID (identifier)") 241040835. [...] On Saturday 3 September 1859, the Baltimore American and Commercial Advertiser reported that

• Flying through the biggest solar storm ever recorded

  To model one of the most extreme scenarios, simulation officers drew inspiration from the infamous Carrington event of 1859, the strongest geomagnetic storm ever recorded. The exercise replicated the effects of a catastrophic solar storm on satellite operations to test the team’s ability to respond without satellite navigation and under severe electronic disruption.

• The Carrington Event: History's greatest solar storm

  Jump to: What happened during the Carrington Event What would happen if a storm like the Carrington Event happened today? When is the next Carrington Event? Historical solar storms Additional resources The Carrington Event was a large solar storm that took place at the beginning of September 1859, just a few months before the solar maximum of 1860. [...] However, we cannot be certain when the next Carrington-level event will occur as space weather is notoriously difficult to predict. [...] 250,000-mile-long 'canyon of fire' into the sun (video)

• What if the Carrington Event , the largest solar storm... | Live Science

  In 1859, British astronomer Richard Carrington saw a blast of white light on the surface of the sun. This was the Carrington Event, as scientists now call it, and it is the largest recorded solar storm ever recorded. It was linked with extraordinary auroras — the Northern and Southern Lights — that were visible in the sky near both the poles and the equator, everywhere from Canada to Australia.The enormous solar outburst also caused electrical disruptions from Paris to Boston. [...] For example, a 2013 study from British insurance giant Lloyd's of London estimated that electrical outages from a Carrington-level event might lead to up to $2.6 trillion in lost revenue for the North American power industry alone. The study also found global blackouts up to years long might occur because such an event could simultaneously damage multiple extra-high-voltage transformers that are difficult to replace. This could in turn result in major disruptions to financial markets, banking, [...] A study published Feb. 29, 2024, in the journal Space Weather looked at digitized copies of magnetic field recordings from 1859 to estimate the strength of the Carrington Event. Based on the readings, the researchers concluded that Carrington-level events likely occur once every 100 to 1000 years. However, without knowing exactly how powerful the event was, scientists can only make educated guesses about how common solar outbursts of its kind may be.

• Solar storms: Are we ready for another Carrington Event?

  A Carrington-like event today could cause high-voltage electrical transformers to overheat, leading to widespread blackouts. It might trigger long-term power outages, widespread communication failures, and crippling economic losses amounting to trillions of dollars worldwide.