What Was The Carrington Event?

The Carrington Event is often referenced as a harbinger when the threat of space weather is being addressed. So I thought it'd be helpful to write a post explaining just what it was. I've also written about the threat of space weather here.

A filiment eruption from the sun. Courtesy of NASA.

The Carrington Event is named after the English astronomer Richard Carrington who was first person to witness a coronal mass ejection (CME). A CME is a large release of plasma during strong, long-duration s...