Earth experienced the biggest solar storm since 2017

Last Sunday (24), Earth experienced a major geomagnetic storm thought to be the strongest since 2017; however, this event was no more intense than the Carrington Event that occurred on Earth in mid-1859. By combining newer data with older records, scientists showed how this event could impact current human civilization.

occasion In the Carrington Event, the Sun launched gas and energy equivalent to 10 billion atomic bombs onto Earth. Some regions of our planet felt this phenomenon due to malfunctions in telegraph communications, which caused operators to get electrocuted and even small fires. The solar flare also caused a beautiful display of the aurora borealis, extending as far south as Cuba and Hawaii.

Based on data collected at the time and analyzed in a recent study, researchers evaluated the Carrington Event as one of the largest solar storms ever recorded in the history of human civilization. — may be rarer and more concentrated than scientists believe. The article was published in the scientific journal Space Weathers.

“The Carrington Storm of September 1859 is one of the largest geomagnetic storms known in the historical record. Two observatories in London were operating at the time, and fortunately both recorded the extreme geomagnetic storm on paper records. These are held by the British Geological Survey and made available online as digital images,” the study explains.

Carrington Event

After calculating measurements recorded in 1859 and later digitized, study researchers were able to identify some intense features of the Carrington Event.

Scientists say that if the incident had occurred a few years later, it would likely have been much more impactful and caused greater electrical damage.. Moreover, the internet will probably disappear for a while, as some scientists predict about solar flares expected in 2024.

Last week’s geomagnetic burst was considered one of the most powerful since 2017, but as the solar cycle reaches solar maximum, it is possible that new events will impact human society even more.

“Continuous recordings of magnetic field variation began at Greenwich in the 1840s, and Kew followed a decade later. Coincidentally, one of the largest geomagnetic storms ever known, the Carrington storm of 2-5 September 1859, was measured at both. In the article, 28 and a leading and less well-known severe storm was also observed on August 29.

Did you like the content? Stay up to date with more curiosity about solar storms at TecMundo. If you wish, take the opportunity to understand how the solar storm of 1977 revealed the ‘unpredictability’ of solar events.