156-yr-old data from Kerala to help predict fatal solar storms

19th-century magnetic records found at KU's Astronomical Observatory add insight into one of Earth's most powerful solar storms - the 1859 Carrington Event

- Sovi Vidyadharan @T'Puram

OVER a century-and-a-half-old data from an observatory in Kerala may hold the key to understanding and predicting deadly solar storms. Magnetic records from the 19th century found at the Trivandrum Observatory, now functioning as Astronomical Observatory under the University of Kerala, have added fresh insight into one of Earth's most powerful solar storms - the 1859 Carrington Event.