In what year did the powerful burst of plasma from the Sun strike Earth's atmosphere?

In what year did the powerful burst of plasma from the Sun strike Earth's atmosphere?

• A. 1914
• B. 1969
• C. 1859
• D. 1776

Answer: (C)

This item is about solar storms and how a large coronal mass ejection (CME) can slam into Earth’s magnetic field. When the Sun ejects a big burst of plasma, it can travel faster than the speed of light? No, it travels much slower, but fast enough to reach Earth and disturb our atmosphere and technologies. The most famous instance of this kind of event is the one that happened in 1859, often called the Carrington Event. Observers saw incredible auroras that lit up skies around the world, and telegraph systems—then the cutting-edge technology—experienced outages and fires from the induced currents. That historical record makes 1859 the year associated with a powerful solar plasma burst striking Earth. The other years don’t match that event: 1914 and 1776 refer to major historical milestones unrelated to a solar storm of that magnitude, and 1969 is known for Apollo 11, not the largest documented CME impact on Earth.

This item is about solar storms and how a large coronal mass ejection (CME) can slam into Earth’s magnetic field. When the Sun ejects a big burst of plasma, it can travel faster than the speed of light? No, it travels much slower, but fast enough to reach Earth and disturb our atmosphere and technologies. The most famous instance of this kind of event is the one that happened in 1859, often called the Carrington Event. Observers saw incredible auroras that lit up skies around the world, and telegraph systems—then the cutting-edge technology—experienced outages and fires from the induced currents. That historical record makes 1859 the year associated with a powerful solar plasma burst striking Earth.

The other years don’t match that event: 1914 and 1776 refer to major historical milestones unrelated to a solar storm of that magnitude, and 1969 is known for Apollo 11, not the largest documented CME impact on Earth.