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On this date in 1859... one of the largest solar storms in recorded history took place. Known as the Carrington Event, it began on September 1st with a very large solar flare that we estimate was somewhere between X60 and X80...(3 times larger than a normal strong X flare...) Richard Carrington witnessed the actual flash and recorded what the sunspot group looked like... (first picture...) The following day a geomagnetic storm of tremendous strength began, lighting up the night sky like it was daylight... Telegraph lines began surging with electricity and burst into flames... and bright red Aurora were seen as far south as Cuba and the Caribbean.. If a storm of that size were to occur today, power grids and all electrical equipment could be shut down or destroyed leaving the world in a state of chaos for months... maybe years...!!! There are several disturbing myths about the Carrington Event you need to understand. 1. Solar flares that size don't happen often... Not true... Solar events that size can happen as often as every 15 to 20 years... what is rare is that they are facing directly at earth when they occur. The 2nd and 3rd pictures are Carrington size flares that took place in 2012... but they were fired away from us. It's only a matter of time until our luck runs out... it's been 166 years...!!! 2. The second myth is that Carrington size flares are the largest the sun can create... not true...!!! There is plenty of evidence that the sun, every 400 to 500 years, can produce flares in the X200 to X500 range... and maybe larger...!!! So this week learn to appreciate and respect the sun's power... to bring warmth and life to this planet... but also realize that one day the sun will wake up, and fire a flare our direction that has the potential to change modern human history forever...!!! #CarringtonEvent