The Solar Storm That Could Take Down the Grid
Our modern world relies on a fragile electrical grid, but a threat looms from above. From the 11-year solar cycle to the devastating Carrington Event of 1859, this documentary explores how Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) can trigger geomagnetically induced currents that melt transformers and collapse power networks.
We analyze real-world events like the 1989 Quebec blackout and the G5 storm of May 2024 to understand the physics of solar fury. How vulnerable is our infrastructure to a total blackout, and can new monitoring missions like ESA's Vigil save us from a global catastrophe?
Educational documentary. Not financial or investment advice.
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Sources and credits
Photo credits (Wikimedia Commons)
- Richard Carrington's drawing of the sunspots observed on 1 September 1859, the day of the Carrington Event: Richard Christopher Carrington, Public domain - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ACarrington_Richard_drawing_of_1859_sunspots.jpeg
- X-class solar flare erupting from the Sun, imaged by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, 26 October 2024: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio - eMITS/Scott Wiessinger, Telophase/Miles S. Hatfield, Public domain - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASun_Erupts_with_X-class_flare_on_October_26%2C_2024_%28SVS14710_-_Oct_26_X1pt8_Flare_multi_big%29.jpg
- Aurora borealis photographed from the International Space Station during a geomagnetic storm, 30 October 2024: NASA Johnson Space Center, Public domain - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AThe_aurora_borealis_blankets_the_Earth_%28iss072e159172%29.jpg
- Forecasters at work inside NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center, Boulder, Colorado: SWPC/NOAA, Public domain - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AInside_Space_Weather_Prediction_Center_in_Boulder.jpg
- NOAA's GOES-T weather satellite (GOES-R series, same family as GOES-16) being inspected after arrival for launch preparations: NOAASatellites, Public domain - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ATechnicians_Inspect_GOES-T_After_Unpacking_%2851684885040%29.jpg
Primary sources
- [Belgian Royal Observatory SIDC: Solar Cycle 25 reached its maximum in October 2024](https://www.sidc.be/article/solar-cycle-25-reached-its-maximum-october-2024)
- [NOAA SWPC Space Weather Prediction Center](https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/)
- [Wikipedia: May 2024 solar storms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_2024_solar_storms)
- [British Geological Survey (BGS) Space Weather Alert, May 13, 2024](https://eap.bgs.ac.uk/data_service/space_weather/alerts/update_2024-05-13.html)
- [NASA Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC): 2024-05 Event](https://ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov/TP/2024-05-TP-02)
- [Fox News Network reporting: Solar storms took tractors in circles (May 2024)](https://www.fox7austin.com/news/solar-storms-tractors-circles-farmers-planting-crops)
- [Hydro-Québec official account: In March 1989, Québec experienced a blackout caused by a solar storm](https://hydroquebec.com/learning/notions-de-base/tempete-mars-1989.html)
- [Science Daily: March 2009 retrospective on the 1989 solar storm](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090316144521.htm)
- [Astronomy.com: March 13, 1989: Quebec goes dark](https://www.astronomy.com/today-in-the-history-of-astronomy/march-13-1989-quebec-goes-dark/)
- [Wikipedia: K-index](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-index)
- [Space Weather Services South Africa: NOAA Geomagnetic Storm Scale](https://spaceweather.sansa.org.za/space-weather-information/definitions/noaa-scales/)
- [SpaceWeatherLive: The Kp-index](https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/en/help/the-kp-index)
- [ESA Space Weather Office: ESA monitoring January 2026 space weather event](https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Space_weather/ESA_monitoring_January_2026_space_weather_event)
- [NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center: G4 Severe Geomagnetic Storm alert, January 19, 2026](https://www.spaceweather.gov/news/g4-severe-geomagnetic-storm-levels-reached-19-jan-2026)
- [GigaZine: Severe solar storm January 2026](https://gigazine.net/gsc_news/en/20260120-severe-solar-storm)
- [Science Alert: How a massive solar storm could wipe out modern technology](https://www.sciencealert.com/how-a-massive-solar-storm-could-wipe-out-modern-technology)
- [IEEE Spectrum: Earth Dodged a Solar Magnetic Storm Bullet in 2012](https://spectrum.ieee.org/earth-dodged-solar-magnetic-storm-bullet-in-2012)
- [Reinsurance News: WTW estimates US insured losses from a modern Carrington Event](https://www.reinsurancene.ws/us-insured-losses-from-a-modern-day-carrington-event-could-reach-433bn-says-wtw/)
- [arXiv 2503.00705: How the CME on 21 April 2023 Triggered the First Severe Geomagnetic Storm of Solar Cycle 25](https://arxiv.org/pdf/2503.00705)
Not regulated financial advice.