carrington event

As we enter July, the solar data from the previous month has been published and the number is terrifying. In June 2023, the average number of sunspots was counted to be 163. As a result, 2023 has also broken a 21-year record for the highest number of sunspots. And it has only been one half of a year. The current projection will make the peak of Solar Cycle 25 far greater than its predecessor, even as initial predictions said it would be weaker than Solar Cycle 24. With the rising intensity of solar activity, researchers…

When it comes to the worst ‘recorded' solar storms in history, the first to come to mind is the solar storm of 1859, which is also known as the Carrington event. It was so powerful that it caused sparks and fires in telegraph machines and caused power grid failures. But, it is far from the worst solar storms that our planet has experienced. Many astronomers and geologists have found evidence that suggests in 774 CE, a solar storm hit the Earth and it was so powerful that it started forest fires. The terrifying incident…

The Carrington event is the most intense solar storm event in our recorded history, but it occurred 164 years ago in 1859, and back then, humans had rudimentary communications technology, but even then it sparked fires to break out spontaneously and the operators suffered electric shocks. But one does not need to go that far to realize the terrifying potential of solar storms. 34 years ago, the Earth witnessed the worst solar storm of the century and it was so powerful that it knocked out power grids in Canada. Not only…

Today, the Sun is quiet. After a long period of continuous and regular solar activity, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has revealed that the solar disturbance levels are expected to stay low today, April 8 and chances of a solar storm event is next to none. But, if you have been following space weather in 2023, you will know that this is a rare break amid a series of destructive events. The Earth has suffered damage from multiple X-class solar flare eruptions, one G4-class and multiple G3-class…

The severe impact of a solar storm is something astronomers still do not understand fully. In most instances, they are limited to brightly colored curtain-like structures in the sky known as auroras. In some instances, they can also cause radio blackouts affecting drone pilots and aviators. But in some situations, their effect can be extremely devastating. In 1859, telegraph machines gave electric shocks to operators and functioned even when not plugged in after a solar storm struck. And just a month ago, Canadian oil…

When Solar Cycle 25 began at the end of 2019, many forecasters predicted that it would be a weak one based on the past performance of the Sun. The Solar Cycle 24 was a particularly underwhelming one, and we have not really seen an aggressive solar cycle ever since 1859, when the Carrington event took place. However, scarily the Sun has been exceeding the predictions for a while. And as such, it seems the Earth should be prepared for a terrifying geomagnetic storm in the near future because all the signs are pointing…

Yesterday, February 2, the Earth again suffered a solar storm attack. This time, luckily, it was a low intensity solar storm and its impact on the Earth was marginal. In the skies of the northern hemisphere in higher latitudes, aurora displays were visible in the late hours. However, many astronomers believe this is just the beginning of a long lasting solar storm onslaught on the Earth. And there is a reason for this belief. January 2023 witnessed the highest sunspots on the Sun, creating a new nine year record. But…

Artificial intelligence (AI) could become a useful tool to track the terrifying solar storms that are constantly hitting Earth. Solar storms are hitting Earth almost constantly as the Sun reaches the peak of its current solar cycle. And the worst part is that we cannot predict whether the dangerous sunspots currently present on the Sun will explode to create more storms. That is because we do not have a method to predict solar storms. We only know about them after the Sun has erupted, which gives us a warning period…

In 1859, the world witnessed the most destructive solar storm on record, known as the Carrington event. But could a similarly intense solar event again take place soon? Find out. Solar storms as a cosmic nuisance have been present since the origin of the Sun itself. But most of these are minor to moderate in intensity that do not really impact us in a major way. The Earth regularly deals with shortwave radio blackouts, GPS disruptions and even minor satellite damage, but that has been the limit, more or less, of its…

The Earth could be on the brink of suffering a a blow from a massive solar storm that is in-the-works as multiple sunspots are ready to blast an X-class solar flare today, January 12. Last week was terrifying for the Earth. First a solar storm struck the Earth and caused GPS disruption across the affected regions and then two X-class solar flare eruptions caused shortwave radio blackouts in Australia, New Zealand and South America. But it seems that the troubled times are not yet over for our planet. Reports suggest…