The solar maximum of 1860 was just a few months away when the Carrington event took place. As the number of sunspots grew in August, 1859, astronomy around the world watched with interest. Richard Carrington was in Redhill.
The sun is constant in the heat and light it emits. For most of human history, these ejections have gone unrecognized.
According to the European Space Agency, space weather can have drastic effects on satellites and other electronic technology.
According to an article by the NASA Earth Observatory, the sun's magnetic field can be traced to the beginnings of space weather.
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Solar flares, coronal mass ejections and other phenomena can emerge from these spots, with potentially hazardous consequences for our technological way of life.
On an 11-year cycle, sunspot activity rises and falls, and we are approaching the next solar maximum in 25 years. It's a good time to look at the worst solar storms.
The term solar storm refers to occurrences on or near our own planet when material thrown out by the sun reaches us. There are two types of solar storms.
The first of these occurs when a clump of solar material, called a coronal mass ejection (CME), disrupts the Earth’s magnetic environment. The second refers to a stream of much faster moving particles ejected by the sun.
The majority of satellites are protected from the effects of the geomagnetic field. Solar radiation storms are a serious problem for deep space missions.
A solar flare came from the sunspots as Richard Carrington was sketching them, and he was lucky to see a flash of light. According to an article by NASA Science, the next day the Earth experienced an unprecedented geomagnetic storm, which caused telegraph systems to go haywire, and the Auroral displays to be visible in the tropics.
The solar flare he had seen was almost certainly the cause of the massive geomagnetic disturbance. According to an article by NASA Spaceflight, this was the first time a connection had been made. The solar storm of 1859 is now known as the Carrington event.
The largest CMEs can contain billions of tonnes of solar material and fly out from the sun at up to 3,000 kilometers per second.
The embedded magnetic field can cause havoc with the Earth's own magnetic field if and when it makes contact.
We know that this has been happening for a long time, and a study published in January of this year shows that radioactive particles are still in the ice deep below Greenland.
A study from 2020 suggested that severe storms were more common than had been thought.
Extreme cases like the Carrington event are included on the scale of G5 which includes minor fluctuations in power supplies.
There was a G3 storm warning at the end of March 2022. When a G2 storm prevented SpaceX from reaching their intended altitude, it caused havoc.
While solar storms rarely pose a direct threat to human life, there is a risk they can impact safety-critical systems, from space-based communications, navigation and weather forecasting services to electrical power distribution at ground level.
It has been speculated that a storm on the scale of the Carrington event could cause an internet apocalypse, sending large numbers of people and businesses offline. According to the U.K. government, adverse space weather is one of the most serious natural dangers, and companies have contingency plans to deal with severe events if they have enough warning.
Is there a chance of another Carrington event? You can read about the study that estimated the answer at EarthSky.org. The South African National Space Agency has a website where you can read more about the Carrington event.
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