CASE RECORD · REAL HISTORY · ALL RECORDS
The Carrington Event: The 1859 Solar Storm That Set Telegraphs on Fire
The strongest geomagnetic storm on record, and the 2012 eruption that would have rivaled it.
Quick answer
What was the Carrington Event?
The Carrington Event was a powerful geomagnetic storm on September 1 and 2, 1859, triggered by a solar eruption that astronomer Richard Carrington observed as a flare on the Sun. Auroras were seen as far south as the Caribbean, and telegraph systems across Europe and North America failed, sparked and in some cases set paper on fire. A storm that size today could damage power grids and satellites.
Timeline
- September 1, 1859Richard Carrington and Richard Hodgson independently observe an intense white-light flare on the Sun.
- September 1 to 2, 1859The resulting storm reaches Earth in about 17 hours. Auroras appear over much of the planet.
- September 1859Telegraph operators report shocks, sparks and fires. Some lines keep working on the storm's current alone with batteries disconnected.
- March 13, 1989A much smaller storm collapses the Hydro-Quebec power grid, leaving millions without power for about nine hours.
- July 23, 2012A Carrington-class eruption misses Earth. NASA later says that if it had happened about a week earlier, Earth would have been in its path.
What is documented, and what is not
On the record
- The flare was observed and published by Carrington in 1859.
- Telegraph disruptions and auroras at low latitudes were widely reported in newspapers and scientific journals.
- The July 2012 eruption was measured by NASA's STEREO-A spacecraft.
Disputed or unproven
- Estimates of the economic damage a modern Carrington-class storm would cause vary widely.
- How often storms of this size occur is uncertain, with estimates ranging from once a century to less often.
Common questions
Could a Carrington Event happen again?
Yes. Scientists consider it a matter of when, not if. In July 2012 a comparable eruption missed Earth by about a week of orbital position.
What would a Carrington Event do today?
It could damage high-voltage transformers, disrupt GPS and satellites, and cause widespread, long-lasting power outages.
Who tracks solar storms?
In the US, NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center issues forecasts and alerts for geomagnetic storms.
Read the record yourself
- Near Miss: The Solar Superstorm of July 2012 ↗NASA Science
- Space Weather Prediction Center ↗NOAA
- 1859 newspaper reports of the aurora and telegraph failures ↗Library of Congress search
Links go to official archives, museums, agencies and published research. Search links open the archive's own search for this topic.
THE FICTION BUILT ON THIS RECORD · FILE 039 · VOLUME VIIn 2012 the Sun Missed Us by Nine DaysYou can store food for a year. You cannot store neighbors.Read the first pages free →Last reviewed 2026-10-13. This page covers the public record only. Archive files are dramatized and always marked as files.
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