Scientists solve 1840s space weather mystery

Scholars found an 1871 Nature report describing a “very intense magnetic disturbance” that allegedly disrupted rail travel in Exeter in October 1841, but a 2023 Space Weather paper identifies the 1841 date as a likely typo, placing the real railway disruption several years later. This evidence shows that geomagnetic storms have affected emerging electrical technologies—telegraph systems and railways—since the late 1840s. The Carrington Event of 1859 remains the most powerful recorded geomagnetic storm, producing worldwide auroras, sparking telegraph lines, and causing fires, while some operators could still transmit messages using the auroral current after power was disconnected.