The storm observed by the English astronomers Richard Carrington and Richard Hodgson in August 28 until September 2 in 1859 was called The Solar Superstorm. It is one of the biggest and most powerful astronomic events ever observed in human history. It was noticed all over the world and caused a massive panic everywhere and a lot of damage.
The Storm, also known as the Carrington Event, consisted of auroral events that were seen all over the world. This happening caused lots of different reactions, mostly the witnesses were deeply shocked and scared. Different viewers were explaining what they saw in different ways. In most cases, they saw the event as a sign of a huge catastrophe coming, such as the apocalypse or the omen for an epidemic of some deadly disease approaching. Newspapers called it “the most brilliant display” (Space Weather, par. 4). The display truly was amazing – majestic illumination in the sky was impressive.
The sky was on fire, it changed colors from violet to crimson, and to deep red. The shining looked like it was reflecting a massive fire happening on the horizon. The luminous effect lasted for almost an hour and was spread massively across the sky. Although, the beautiful show in the sky was not the only result of the Superstorm. Geomagnetic storm caused a mass failure of all the telegraph stations of Europe and North America. It became impossible to communicate using the wires. Telegraph poles were bursting into sparks and the wires were damaged.
If an event of that kind happened these days and it was the as powerful – what kind of consequences would follow?
Many things have changed in the world since 1859, life became faster, the population grew, we use completely different types of communication and the level of education is different. However, I do not think our public reaction would differ much from the reaction of witnesses in 1859. Looking at multiple groups of people packing their things and heading off to shelters and caves every time someone predicts another apocalypse – I would expect lots of pedestrians falling on the ground and shouting out prayers or screaming, if the sky, all of a sudden, turned crimson. Chaos and panic are guaranteed.
The technical side of the situation is hard to predict. Parker states that “we would very quickly revert to a much more primitive level of living that would last for months or years” (par. 1).
It is a well-known fact that our planet now is surrounded by satellites that are responsible for our communication, financial transactions and information. These are the infrastructures that will be damaged the first in case of a geomagnetic storm. Watts adds that transportation infrastructure is also on the list of first-order damage (par. 24). The main one is, of course, electric power infrastructure.
If I was on a trip to New York at the moment when the storm strikes – I would find myself trapped in a dark city with no ways to communicate or travel back home, surrounded by panicking crowds. No way to withdraw money, pay for food, fuel my car. No water in the taps on the upper floors.
Knowing the fact that New York is one of the most powerful and expensive cities of the world with immense influence and resources, home of the biggest businesses and finances, I would expect it to throw all the powers and all the efforts to repair the damage, starting with the most essential spheres. I think I would have an opportunity to return back home in several weeks.
Works Cited
Space Weather. n. d. 2014. Web.
Parker, Randall. Solar Carrington Event Repeat Today Would Collapse Civilization. 2009. Web.
Watts, Anthony. Homeland Security Takes on The Carrington Event. 2012. Web.