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The sun is a solar flare machine, constantly spitting out waves of charged particles in all directions. Sometimes these hit Earth. Luckily we're protected by a strong magnetic field that directs the particles to the poles, which we experience as the Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis.

But from time to time, the sun erupts in a massive superflare, also known as a CME or Coronal Mass Ejection. These can push our magnetic shield to its limits and actually cause electrical problems on the ground.

One of the worst instances of a CME striking the Earth occurred in 1859. It disrupted the telegraph system and sent sparks flying out of switchboards. It became known as the Carrington Event and begs the question - what if it happened today?


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LINKS LINKS LINKS:

Carrington Event animation:
   • 1859 Carrington-Class Solar Storm Pum...  

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-b...

https://www.history.com/news/a-perfec..., https://io9.gizmodo.com/how-the-carri...

http://www.solarstorms.org/NewsPapers...

https://www.airspacemag.com/space/the...

https://science.nasa.gov/science-news...

https://www.space.com/33687-solar-sto...