The Carrington Event: The Solar Storm That Set Telegraphs on Fire (And Could Wipe Out the Internet Today)
In the fall of 1859, something happened that sounds like a deleted scene from Stranger Things.
Telegraph operators started getting shocks from their equipment. Sparks jumped from wires. Paper caught fire. Machines that weren’t even plugged in started transmitting messages on their own. And above it all? The sky lit up with auroras so intense, people in the Caribbean thought the world was ending.
This was The Carrington Event, the most powerful solar storm in recorded history. And if something like it hit today?
Let’s just say…we’d notice.
What Actually Happened in 1859?
The Carrington Event is named after Richard Carrington, a British astronomer who, on September 1, 1859, happened to be observing the Sun with a telescope. He noticed a bright flash, what we now call a solar flare, followed by a massive coronal mass ejection (CME).
Basically: the Sun sneezed out a cloud of plasma the size of a planet, and Earth happened to be in the way. Classic Earth, am I right?
Just 17 hours later (fast by space standards), that CME slammed into our magnetic field like a freight train of electromagnetic chaos. What followed was global auroras as far south as Cuba and Hawaii, telegraph systems failing, or working with no power at all, sparks, fires, and shocks in telegraph stations, and a dash of widespread confusion and awe.
At the time, the telegraph was the most advanced tech we had, and it couldn’t handle it.
Now imagine that same storm hitting our satellites, GPS systems, internet cables, planes, cell towers, banks, hospitals…
Yeah. We’re gonna talk about that.
A Quick Solar Science Crash Course
To understand what happened, and what could happen again, here’s a fast breakdown of solar storms:
Solar flares are intense bursts of radiation from the Sun’s surface. They can disrupt radio signals and satellites but don’t cause physical damage.
This is the big one to understand: Coronal Mass Ejections. CMEs are giant clouds of magnetized plasma ejected from the Sun. When aimed at Earth, they can interact with our magnetic field and cause geomagnetic storms.
Okay, now what is a geomagnetic storm? These are disturbances in Earth’s magnetosphere caused by CMEs. They can induce electric currents in power lines, disrupt navigation systems, damage or completely destroy satellites, as well as cause auroras in places that don’t usually get auroras.
The Carrington Event was a direct hit. And it was fast. Usually, CMEs take 2–4 days to reach us, but this one made it in 17 hours. That’s like a cosmic sucker punch.
What Happened to the Telegraphs?
Telegraphs were the 1859 version of the internet. They were wired across continents, powered by batteries, and fairly delicate by today’s standards.
When that solar storm hit telegraph lines overcharged from induced current, messages sent themselves with no power (creepy!), operators were shocked just touching their machines (not emotionally, physically), and equipment caught fire.
This was the first time humans realized that space weather could physically affect Earth’s infrastructure.
And it freaked everyone out.
How Powerful Was It?
On the geomagnetic storm scale, the Carrington Event was a G5, Extreme (yes, they actually have a scale now, from G1 to G5).
Estimates suggest its impact on Earth’s magnetic field was 20 times stronger than the largest storms we’ve seen in the modern satellite era, and a storm of this magnitude might occur only once every 500 years.
Which means…we could be overdue. Cue dramatic music.
What If a Carrington-Level Storm Hit Today?
Well, obviously the satellites go first, as they’re in the direct fire zone. Radiation would fry low-orbit satellites, disrupting GPS, communications, weather forecasting, and obviously all of that would have drastic effects on planes.
Power grids would fail next. Long transmission lines would act like massive antennas, pulling in unwanted current. Transformers would overheat and explode. We might see rolling blackouts, nationwide grid collapses, and some serious massive repair costs.
My least favorite of all as a blogger: the internet would go down. The cables themselves might survive, but routers and hubs could fry, submarine cables could be overwhelmed by current, data centers could overheat, and global comms could go dark for days…or even weeks. Fun, right? (I’m trying not to hyperventilate).
Lastly, banking, healthcare, and travel would all be toast. ATMs wouldn’t work, planes would be grounded, hospitals would lose data, and the global stock markets would freeze.
It’s basically what would happen if Mercury retrograde was real (Is Astrology Real?) and had a caffeine-fueled meltdown.
Prep Without Panic
Not to be dramatic (okay, maybe I hit that a long time ago), but if the Carrington Event had happened in 2025, most of us would be sitting in the dark wondering how to charge our phones.
That’s why I keep this solar-powered emergency radio + charger (I am in fact a doomsday prepper, and my coworkers think I walk around wearing a tin-foil hat most of the time!) in the house. It’s compact, charges with the sun, has a flashlight, and can power your phone in a pinch.
No tinfoil hats needed, just one less thing to stress about.
…Even though I admitted the internet and satellites would go down, but at least you’d have your phone.
Has This Ever Happened Again?
Not at Carrington-level, but we’ve had a few close calls:
March 1989 — Quebec Blackout
A geomagnetic storm took down the entire power grid in Quebec for 9 hours, and over 6 million people lost power.
2003 — The “Halloween Storms”
Two major solar storms disrupted GPS, aviation, and satellite operations across the globe.
2012 — The Near Miss
NASA observed a CME as strong as Carrington’s, but it missed Earth by about 9 days. If it had hit…we might still be recovering.
So yes, it can happen again, and scientists know it.
How Scientists Monitor the Sun Today
We’re not flying blind anymore. Agencies like NASA, NOAA, and the ESA (European Space Agency) monitor the Sun constantly.
They use solar observatories (like SOHO and STEREO), satellites that measure radiation, solar wind, and magnetic fields, and models that predict CME impact hours before arrival.
But here’s the truth no one wants to hear, even with early warning systems, we might only get 12 to 24 hours notice.
Which…isn’t much.
If they even decide to tell us, because chances are the elites would take all their money out in gold and leave the rest of us to our doom.
Are Governments Prepared?
The U.S. government has developed contingency plans under the National Space Weather Strategy, but critics (and myself) argue it’s not really enough.
Most infrastructure (like power grids and communication systems) isn’t hardened against extreme geomagnetic storms, and while some industries have begun taking precautions, most of us still aren’t ready for a multi-day blackout of the entire internet.
It would be chaos, and I’m assuming the polite kind for the first 48 hours, then the not-so-polite kind that makes me glad my husband is 6 foot 2 inches and 250lbs.
Why This Story Still Matters
The Carrington Event was a wake-up call from history. It reminds us that the Sun isn’t just a pretty sky light, it’s a giant, moody nuclear furnace, technology is amazing, but also fragile, and we’ve survived before, but that doesn’t mean we’re invincible.
It also reminds us that we’re part of a cosmic ecosystem, whether we think about it or not on a daily basis.
Every satellite, every TikTok, every GPS ping, it’s all happening in a magnetic bubble that the Sun can disrupt with one angry outburst.
And that’s both wild…and worth preparing for.
Want More Cosmic Weirdness?
If you liked this one, check out my post about the “Black Hole Bomb” theory, yes, that’s a thing.
Because apparently, when we’re not worrying about solar storms, we’re busy decoding physics theories that sound like Marvel plotlines!
Wi-Fi Exists Because of Black Hole Science (No Joke)
Are Black Holes Actually Tunnels? The Mind-Bending Theory That’s Changing Space Science
The Black Hole Explorer Mission: Listening to the Silence That Shapes the Universe
NASA Captures a Star Being Ripped Apart by a Black Hole
When the Light Becomes Too Bright: How a Quasar Silenced the Sky
The Boötes Void: Where the Universe Forgot to Speak
The Great Attractor: The Mysterious Force Dragging Our Galaxy Toward the Unknown
Where the Universe Hides Her Skeleton: The Tale of Missing Matter
The Light That Shouldn’t Exist: Discovering Stars in the Darkest Corners
What Happens When a Star Dies? The Science and Poetry of Stellar Death
Supernova 1987A: When the Sky Exploded and We Watched
Cosmic Alchemy: How Magnetar Flares Scatter Gold Across the Universe
Time Isn't Linear (At Least, Not Anymore)
Quantum Time Control: How Scientists Are Learning to Rewind Reality
