Earth’s INVISIBLE threat: Terrifying reason Northern Lights once appeared above Hawaii

On 1 September 1859, a huge solar flare was released from the surface of the Sun, sending a barrage of of solar particles into space. The storm hit Earth on September 2 after travelling the 150 million kilometre (93 million mile) journey from the Sun in just under 18 hours. The resulting solar storm was so powerful its southern auroras could be seen as far north as Queensland in Australia and northern auroras were noted as far south as Hawaii.

Auroras are caused when solar particles hit the atmosphere.

As the magnetosphere gets bombarded by solar winds, stunning blue lights can appear as that layer of the atmosphere deflects the particles.

The surge in electricity during what is now known as the Carrington Event, as it was observed by British astronomer Richard Carrington, was so strong that telegraph systems went down across Europe and there are reports that some buildings set on fire as a result of the electricity surge.

And today, in a modern world so dependent on technology, the implications would be far more severe.

Solar storms wreak havoc on global technology as the radiation which pummels our planet heats up the outer atmosphere, causing it to expand.

This means satellite signals will struggle to penetrate the swollen atmosphere, leading to a lack of Internet service, GPS navigation, satellite TV such as Sky and mobile phone signal.

Additionally, increased currents in the Earth’s magnetic field – or magnetosphere – could theoretically lead to a surge of electricity in power lines, which can blow out electrical transformers and power stations leading to a temporary loss of electricity.

A report from the Atmospheric and Environmental Research group warned that it will happen again: “One serious threat to the reliability of electric power is geomagnetic storms – severe disturbances caused by solar storms in the upper layers of our atmosphere that induce currents in long conductors on the Earth’s surface, such as power lines.

READ MORE: LISTEN: Eerie sound of Earth being BOMBARDED by solar winds