What was the Carrington Event?

Richard Carrington’s sketch of the sunspots
seen just before the 1859 Carrington event.
(credit: universetoday.com)

Many people only think of night when they think of astronomy, but a lot of interesting stuff happens during the day too.

Imagine what a huge solar flare could do to the nascent electrical and communications grids of 1859.

That was the Carrington Event.