Early records suggest space weather impacted technology before the Carrington Event
Scientists have examined historical records suggesting that disruptions from space weather affected technology much earlier than previously thought. According to Ars Technica, an account from 1871 described magnetic disturbances impacting rail travel in England, potentially predating the famous 1859 Carrington Event.
Ars Technica reports that while the Carrington Event of 1859 is known as a major space weather incident, an anonymous 1871 report in Nature detailed a 'very intense magnetic disturbance' disrupting rail travel in Exeter in October 1841. However, the outlet notes that a paper in the journal Space Weather suggests the 1841 date is likely a mistake, placing the actual disruption years later. Co-author Jim Wild of Lancaster University, quoted by Ars Technica, explains that this shows society has faced space weather effects on technology almost as long as electrical systems have existed.
The article contrasts this with the Carrington Event, where a coronal mass injection likely caused geomagnetically induced currents that disrupted telegraph systems in the 1830s. Some operators during that time could still send and receive messages even after losing external power due to the powerful auroral current.
Source: Scientists solve 1840s space weather mystery
