In 1859, the world saw the sky catch fire.

From London to Havana, the night glowed blood red as auroras shimmered overhead, telegraph wires sparked, and operators leapt from their chairs as blue fire danced between their fingers. What no one knew was that the Earth had just been struck by a solar superstorm — a coronal mass ejection so powerful it turned the atmosphere into electricity. It became known as The Carrington Event, after the lone astronomer who first saw it coming.

The storm burned out in days, but its warning has echoed for centuries. If a solar flare of that magnitude hit today, it could cripple power grids, satellites, GPS, and the internet — plunging the modern world into darkness within hours. Scientists say it’s not a matter of if, but when.

This is the story of the day the sun went out — a tale of fire, fate, and the fragile thread connecting our civilization to the star that sustains it. And it’s a reminder that sometimes the greatest dangers don’t come from below… but from above.

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Carrington Event — solar storm — Richard Carrington — 1859 solar flare — geomagnetic storm — sunspots — space weather — telegraph fire — NASA solar observatory — Did You Know podcast

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