Gold, Glamour and Destruction

[D_Archer]

This was really an enjoyable well written TPOD. The history of it all previously unknown to me. Excellent work.

There is however a small typo in the subtitle: "Could the Carrington Event of 1859 have had broader effects that originally assumed?" Should be 'than'.

http://www.thunderbolts.info/tpod/2011/ ... 02gold.htm

Regards,
Daniel

[webolife]

I've wondered whether the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 was a similarly caused space weather event just about one solar cycle later than the 1859 Carrington catastrophe? There was a thread a while back exploring the electric cometary hypothesis for this event...

[mharratsc]

Heya Webo,

There's more than just a thread on it:

The Comet and the Chicago Fire (1)

The Chicago Fire (2)

The Chicago Fire (3)

[Tina]

I've wondered whether the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 was a similarly caused space weather event just about one solar cycle later than the 1859 Carrington catastrophe?

Comet Biela fragmented in 1845 (14 years prior to 1859) and these fragments are speculated to have hit Earth in 1871 (12 years post 1959) causing the Chicago, Wisconsin and Michigan fires/electrical chaos. Probably no correlation with solar cycles.


Panel chairman Doug Biesecker of the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center comment on Solar Cycle 24:

"The great geomagnetic storm of 1859, for instance, occurred during a solar cycle of about the same size we’re predicting for 2013."

But I don't know if this predictions has been revised in view of sunspot levels being out of kilter these days.
Anyway, let's hope the predictions are wrong:

A recent report by the National Academy of Sciences found that if a similar storm occurred today, it could cause $1 to 2 trillion in damages to society's high-tech infrastructure and require four to ten years for complete recovery. For comparison, Hurricane Katrina caused "only" $80 to 125 billion in damage.

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/sc ... rediction/

[webolife]

But think about this... if Biela fragments came within the vicinity of Earth at the same time as a peak solar cycle, there might be dramatic cumulative electric effects... n'est-ce pas?

[Tina]

if Biela fragments came within the vicinity of Earth at the same time as a peak solar cycle, there might be dramatic cumulative electric effects...,

OK webolife, if you really want to be a research Rudolf Wolf and Solar Cycle Records dating back to the period you are interested in (1859/1871)