Abstract: The 1859 space weather event, combining the first solar flare ever reported with arguably the largest geomagnetic storm ever observed, provided a dramatic opening to a new area of Sun-Earth studies. Here I describe solar science at the time of the discovery of the flare, recount the observation, and trace the developments that led to the correct interpretation of the 1859 solar-errestrial event by Bartels in 1937. A "fast forward" takes us to the present time when advances in modeling and increasing concern with space weather have prompted renewed interest in a classic observation.
| Limitations: |
APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE |
| Description: |
Journal article |
| Pages: |
12 |
| Report Date: |
2006 |
| Report Number: |
A485174 |
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