When studying solar storms, the Carrington Event of 1859 always comes up as an example of how bad they can be.

• Telegraph systems failed and even caught fire
• Auroras were seen in Hawaii and Mexico

Not much else happened. But had the event occurred today (a similar storm happened in 2012, but missed Earth), it would be much different. Great lengths of metal are affected – back then that was the telegraph. Today it is power lines. Countries with long distance powerlines like Russia, China, Australia, Canada and USA could all face blackouts that last years (because spare transformers are not routinely kept). Gas pipelines can also be destroyed. Satellites can be wrecked. Which means GPS fails, with severe repercussions. And literally millions of people would die.

Well, the Carrington Event was not the only event of that magnitude. By looking at ice cores and tree rings, scientists have determined additional geomagnetic storms in modern history:

• 993 AD
• 774 AD
• 660 BC

If one thousand years ago the events could be 220 years apart, are you confident they can’t happen 160 years apart today?