Solar Explosion!

<p>The Carrington Event - the largest solar storm in recorded history - occurred on 2nd September, 1859. Although its effects would later be felt by millions around the world, it had initially only been spotted by one amateur, British astronomer: Richard Carrington.</p><br><p>What he’d witnessed was a giant Coronal Mass Ejection - a significant release of plasma and accompanying magnetic field from the Sun's corona into the heliosphere. If repeated today, it could bring down satellites and cause city-wide blackouts across the globe.</p><br><p>In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly investigate the melting of telegraph lines; predict a cataclysmic future caused by CMEs; and pause to look at how beautiful it all is and how insignificant we all are… </p><br><p><strong>Further Reading:</strong></p><p>• ‘A Perfect Solar Superstorm: The 1859 Carrington Event’ (HISTORY, 2012): <a href="https://www.history.com/news/a-perfect-solar-superstorm-the-1859-carrington-event#:~:text=The%20flare%20spewed%20electrified%20gas%20and%20subatomic%20particles,largest%20on%20record%20to%20have%20struck%20the%20planet" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.history.com/news/a-perfect-solar-superstorm-the-1859-carrington-event</a></p><p>• ‘The Sun Kings - The Unexpected Tragedy of Richard Carrington and the Tale of How Modern Astronomy Began’ by Stuart Clark (Princeton University Press, 2009): <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Sun_Kings/EhG_DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=carrington+event+end+of+the+world&printsec=frontcover" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Sun_Kings/EhG_DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=carrington+event+end+of+the+world&printsec=frontcover</a></p><p>• ‘Solar storms: more dangerous than you think. Can we survive another Carrington Event?’ (The Why Files, 2022): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftrbdFGTQO4" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftrbdFGTQO4</a></p><br><p><strong>For bonus material and to support the show, visit</strong><a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/Patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong> </strong></a><a href="http://patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Patreon.com/Retrospectors</strong></a></p><p><strong>We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:</strong><a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong> </strong></a><a href="http://podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>podfollow.com/Retrospectors</strong></a></p><br><p><em>The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.</em></p><p><em>Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.</em></p><p><em>Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.</em> </p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

Today In History with The Retrospectors