It is the 151st anniversary of the gigantic solar storm known as the Carrington event.  Here’s a rather dramatically titled piece just published on the Princeton University Press blog that I wrote about that event.  The Carrington event was the subject of my book The Sun Kings and this blog entry describes a little about it and the modern work being done to combat the threat of solar storms.

“In recent weeks, we have witnessed a solar tsunami that allowed sky-gazers to glimpse the Northern Lights far to the south. While this was an awe-inspiring sight, it is also a reminder of how easily the Earth can be affected by cosmic events. On the 150th anniversary of the massive solar storms that knocked out telegraph and navigation equipment, Dr. Stuart Clark warns of the crippling effect a similar storm would have on contemporary technology. ...”

Read the full story here.