The Carrington Event - and Timing

 "'I never, in my experience of fifteen years in the working of telegraph lines, witnessed anything like the extraordinary effect of the Aurora Borealis...so completely were the wires under the influence of the Aurora Borealis, it was found utterly impossible to communicate between the telegraph stations, and the line was closed for the night.'" 

 The Aurora Borealis, The Brilliant Display on Sunday Night
The New York Times - August 30, 1859

 

We pay far too little attention these days to The Carrington Event in 1859.  As newspaper accounts indicate (see SolarFlareWatch.com), it did not occur on a single day or two.  Though the above newspaper account is no longer easily accessible via link, already on Wednesday, August 30, there was a discussion of the previous Sunday.

Perhaps the reason it has taken so much time for this blog to find its voice has to do with what it will ultimately be called to say.  Do we ever pause to think about how The Carrington Event was so precisely timed?  Had it been earlier, it would have been no more than a beautiful display in the skies.  Had it been later, it could very well have ended the adoption of electricity.  

Are we really so very fortunate it has taken so long for another Carrington-like event to occur?  We are more vulnerable than ever to its effects.  We did not take heed of the warning.  We rarely do. 

A Glimpse of The Carrington Event

 "The Aurora which occurred on Thursday night produced effects much more remarkable than those of the previous Sunday night. The auroral currents were sufficiently powerful on Thursday to enable the telegraphic operators at Portland to transmit messages to Boston without resorting to the use of the batteries; and similar phenomena were observed at Pittsburgh."

~ Remarkable Effect of the Aurora Upon the Telegraph Wires
The New York Times - September 5, 1859

 

 The intent of this blog, as it reawakens, is not to be a day-to-day resource for solar flare activity.  You will find multiple resources listed on the SolarFlareWatch.com website with all the information you need.  A really good one is SpaceWeather.com.  

Instead, the intent here is to provide informative and engaging content, curated and shared by a real human being.  At times, yes, that will include exceptional things that are currently happening, but not on a daily basis.

Perhaps no topic is more fascinating (and for very good reason) than The Carrington Event in 1859.  The quote above gives you a glimpse.  There will be much more to say.