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NOTE: Unfortunately, archives of The New York Times are no longer available to view at previous online locales, but quotes from content are still noted here.

1859 Carrington Event

Remarkable Effect of the Aurora Upon the Telegraph Wires
The New York Times - September 5, 1859

"The Aurora which occurred on Thursday night produced effects much more remarkable than those of the previous Sunday night. The auroral currents were sufficiently powerful on Thursday to enable the telegraphic operators at Portland to transmit messages to Boston without resorting to the use of the batteries; and similar phenomena were observed at Pittsburgh."

Magnificent Display on Friday Morning
The New York Times - September 3, 1859

"The exhibition of the Aurora on Thursday night and Friday morning, exceeded in brilliancy that of last Sunday evening..."

The Aurora Borealis
Baltimore American and Commercial Advertiser - September 3, 1859 [Page 2, Column 2]

"The light was greater than that of the moon at its full, but had an indescribable softness and delicacy that seemed to envelope everything upon which it rested."

The Aurora Borealis, The Brilliant Display on Sunday Night
The New York Times - August 30, 1859

"'I never, in my experience of fifteen years in the working of telegraph lines, witnessed anything like the extraordinary effect of the Aurora Borealis...so completely were the wires under the influence of the Aurora Borealis, it was found utterly impossible to communicate between the telegraph stations, and the line was closed for the night.'"




A Brilliant Display of the Aurora Borealis
The New York Times - February 21, 1852 [2nd column, a quarter of way down]

"There was a brilliant display of the Aurora Borealis on Thursday evening. The flashes extended to the zenith and covered about one-quarter of the heavens. At first they were pale white, but afterwards changed to a delicate pink color, that we do not remember to have observed before."

Solar Flare Serves Up Antimatter Surprises
Scientific American - September 5, 2003

"The results of the most detailed study yet of a solar flare, which will be published in the October 1 issue of Astrophysical Journal Letters, indicate that each burst can create up to a pound of antimatter."

Solar Flares Disrupt World's Radios
The Evening Independent - July 9, 1968

"The biggest and brightest solar flare since 1966 fouled up short-wave radio communications around the world yesterday, the U.S. Space Disturbance Forecast Center reported."

Skylab Cameras Catch Solar Flare
Toledo Blade - June 16, 1973

"Skylab astronauts photographed a massive explosion on the sun Friday, recording on film the clearest view ever of the powerful burst of energy, light, and radiation spewed into space from a solar flare."

Deadly Solar Flares Pose Threat to Astronauts While on the Moon
Daytona Beach Morning Journal - July 15, 1969

"When, next Monday morning, Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. are to walk on the moon in their bulky space suits, or even when they are inside the paper-thin walls of their moon taxi - the lunar module - they would be defenseless against the radioactive wave, they could sicken or die."

Plane Crash Held Caused by Sun Spots, Ghost Wave Blamed for Disaster
St. Petersburg Times - Dec. 1, 1938

"A radio 'ghost wave' and a barrage of sunspot energy possibly played sinister parts, scientists said last night, in the loss of an airliner and five of its seven occupants in the Pacific Tuesday morning."