A massive geomagnetic storm disrupts navigation and telegraphy around the globe

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One of the most spectacular magnetic storms of the nineteenth century took place from August 28 to September 7, 1859. The storm was at its most intense during the first two days of September. Magnetic compasses were rendered useless, arcing in telegraph wires disrupted communications and caused numerous fires in Europe and the United States, and the "Northern Lights" were seen as far south as Rome and Hawaii. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
Willie Soon, Steven H. Yaskell, The Maunder Minimum and the Variable Sun-Earth Connection (London: World Scientific Publishing Company, 2003), 90-92.
G.S. Lakhina, et al, "Research on Historical Records of Geomagnetic Storms," Coronal and Stellar Mass Ejections: Proceedings of the 226th Symposium of the International Astronomical Union Held in Beijing, China, September 13-17, 2004 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), 4-6.
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    Exact
    Type
    Science/Technology
    How to Cite This Page: "A massive geomagnetic storm disrupts navigation and telegraphy around the globe," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/index.php/node/22653.