Free Astronomy Magazine July-August 2024

11 ASTRO PUBLISHING F ront page of the Keowee Courier (South Carolina) of September 17, 1859, where the phenomena produced by the white light flare at the beginning of the month were reported. In this case too, the excep- tional range of the auroras (borealis) is somehow linked to the occurrence of electrical anomalies of various kinds. The Weekly West − September 10, 1859: “Last night’s auroral spectacle was so brilliant after midnight that the ordinary press could be read by its light. It greatly hindered the working of the telegraph lines, and its effects continued until noon today. The auroral current from the east and west was so regular that operators on the eastern lines could send messages to this city [St. Joseph, Missouri] without the usual batteries being applied. The same extraordinary effect was evident on the telegraph wire between Phila- delphia and Pittsburgh.” The Illustrated London News − Sep- tember 24, 1859: “French telegraph communications in Paris were greatly affected, and on breaking the circuit of the conducting wire, strong sparks were observed. The same thing happened simultane- ously in all the telegraph stations of France.” Apart from the overload and some faults in the telegraph network, the crazy compasses, and the weak electric shocks felt by those who touched metal objects, the Carring- ton Event did not particularly upset the lives of humans. But what would happen if a geomagnetic storm of that magnitude hit Earth today? We live in a wholly different world. Our technology is advanced, complex, and ubiquitous. Where once tele- graph lines were the most effective