GEOMAGNETIC MEGASTORM: On Sept. 2, 1859, a powerful CME rocked Earth's magnetic field, causing a geomagnetic storm that set fire to Victorian telegraph offices and sparked auroras as far south as Mexico and Cuba. Now known as the "Carrington Event," that megastorm 159 years ago is a touchstone of modern extreme space weather research. What are the odds it could happen again? Find out on today's edition of Spaceweather.com
Above: These maps show where auroras were sighted in the early hours of Sept. 2, 1859. Source: González-Esparza, J. A., & Cuevas-Cardona, M. C. (2018). Observations of low-latitude red aurora in Mexico during the 1859 Carrington geomagnetic storm. Space Weather, 16, 593–600. https://doi.org/10.1029/2017SW001789
