During a solar storm, the sun ejects material into space that can impact technology on Earth. One such example is the Carrington event.

In September 1859, the Carrington Event, a major solar storm, occurred just a few months before the solar maximum in 1860. During this event, the number of sunspots increased.

Richard Carrington in Redhill, Surrey, United Kingdom, along with other astronomers around the world, observed the number of sunspots increase in August 1859.

The sun constantly radiates heat and light to Earth. However, during solar storms, it can also eject matter into space. Although most of these ejections have gone unnoticed throughout human history, some solar storms are still remarkably notable.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has noted that this phenomenon, known as space weather, can have drastic effects on satellites and other electronic technology that humans rely on.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) indicated that the origins of space weather are due to contortions in the sun's magnetic field that result in dark spots, or sunspots, on the surface of the sun.

Sunspots to Solar Storms

Coronal mass ejections, solar flares, and other electromagnetic phenomena can emanate from these sunspots. These events can have potentially dangerous consequences for the technology-dependent way of life on Earth.

The next solar maximum is in 2025. Sunspot activity rises and falls on an 11-year cycle. Experts say this is a good time to watch for the worst solar storms.

The term solar storm refers to occurrences on or near Earth when material ejected from the sun reaches the planet. The two types of solar storms are geomagnetic storms and solar radiation storms.

Geomagnetic storms occur when a coronal mass ejection (CME) or clump of solar material disturbs the Earth's magnetic environment.

A solar radiation storm refers to a stream of much faster moving particles ejected from the Sun. The geomagnetic field, as well as most satellites in Earth orbit, protects the planet from solar radiation storms. However, this type of solar storm can be dangerous for deep space missions.

The Carrington Event

On September 1, 1959, Carrington saw a sudden flash of light, or solar flare, emanating from the sunspots he was sketching. The following day, the Earth experiences an unprecedented geometric storm. The telegraph system goes haywire and the auroras are visible in the tropics. Experts from NASA say that the solar flare was accompanied by a CME.

NASA spaceflight reports that Carrington realized that the solar flare he saw was the cause of this massive geomagnetic disturbance, a connection that had never been made before. Therefore, the solar storm of 1859 was named the Carrington event in his honor.

A study published in January 2022 found that a massive solar storm that swept across the Earth 9200 years ago left radioactive particles in the ice beneath Greenland. It has remained untouched to this day.

Another study in 2020 found that severe geomagnetic storms had occurred in 42 of the previous 150 years.

Experts say a solar storm on the scale of the Carrington event today could trigger an Internet apocalypse that would take large numbers of people and businesses off the grid.