On September 1st of 1859, Richard Carrington was studying the Sun, as he did every day. The British astronomer used a small telescope to project an image of the Sun on a screen. That allowed him to map the dark features known as sunspots.

But on this day, Carrington saw something he’d never seen before. Bright features mingled with the sunspots. They were the first solar flares ever recorded – and still the most powerful. So the outburst is called the Carrington Event in his honor. Carrington also linked the flares to brilliant auroras seen across the globe the following day – the first observations of space weather.

Carrington was born 200 years ago today, in London. He originally studied theology, but became hooked on astronomy. He joined an observatory, but left after a couple of years. He built his own observatory, in Surrey.

Carrington watched the skies both day and night. He compiled star catalogs. And he made the most impressive studies of the Sun to that time, revealing some crucial details about the Sun. For one thing, it rotates faster near its poles than at the equator. For another, during the 11-year sunspot cycle, the spots move from middle latitudes to near the equator.

Carrington eventually had to give up his research. When his father died, he had to take over the family brewery. His health failed as well. He died in 1875 – a pioneer at studying the Sun.

Script by Damond Benningfield