Five Historically Huge Solar Events

Solar flares are large eruptions of electromagnetic radiation from the sun. They can last minutes or hours and can cause increased ionization in the lower layers of the Earth’s ionosphere. Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are large masses of plasma and strong magnetic fields that shoot out from the sun’s corona. CMEs are often associated with solar flares and can cause geomagnetic storms on Earth. Both solar flares and CMEs usually occur near sunspots, areas of particularly strong magnetic forces on the surface of the sun.

NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center and Office of Space Weather Observations, as well as earlier space weather observers, have seen some amazing solar events over the years. Here are some of the most memorable.

1. The Carrington Event on September 1, 1859

The Carrington Event was observed by both R.C. Carrington and Richard Hodgson independently the day before the effects of this large solar flare hit Earth. The effects were astounding, causing the northern lights (aurora borealis) to be seen farther south than had ever been recorded before. Powerful electrical currents flowed through telegraph machine wires, causing them to shock their operators and igniting small fires in some offices because of the surge in electrical currents. Some even sent messages without being plugged in or received nonsensical messages that no one had sent. The Carrington Event set off the largest geomagnetic storm ever recorded.