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Carrington Event - Quiz
Contributed by: Law
  • 1. What is the Carrington Event considered to be in recorded history?
A) The first recorded solar eclipse
B) The largest earthquake in the 19th century
C) The most intense geomagnetic storm
D) A massive volcanic eruption
  • 2. During which solar cycle did the Carrington Event occur?
A) Solar cycle 20
B) Solar cycle 10
C) Solar cycle 5
D) Solar cycle 15
  • 3. What is the primary cause of the Carrington Event geomagnetic storm?
A) Coronal mass ejection (CME)
B) Solar wind fluctuation
C) Lunar eclipse
D) Meteoroid impact
  • 4. How long did the CME take to travel from the Sun to Earth?
A) 48 hours
B) 72 hours
C) 17.6 hours
D) 24 hours
  • 5. Which astronomers independently recorded the solar flare of 1 September 1859?
A) Richard Carrington and Richard Hodgson
B) Isaac Newton and Galileo Galilei
C) Balfour Stewart and Elias Loomis
D) Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace
  • 6. What effect did the Carrington Event have on telegraph stations?
A) Destroyed all paper documents
B) Increased message speed
C) Caused sparking and fires
D) Caused global communication blackouts
  • 7. Where were the auroras from the Carrington Event visible?
A) Globally
B) Only in the United States
C) Only the equator
D) Only the North Pole
  • 8. How did the light from the aurora affect gold miners in the Rocky Mountains?
A) It guided them to gold deposits
B) It caused them to flee their camps
C) It blinded them momentarily
D) It awakened them as they thought it was morning
  • 9. What was the estimated strength (Dst) range of the Carrington Event storm?
A) −0.10 to −0.50 μT
B) −0.80 to −1.75 μT
C) −5.00 to −10.0 μT
D) −2.00 to −3.50 μT
  • 10. What did Balfour Stewart observe in the Kew Observatory magnetometer record?
A) A geomagnetic solar flare effect (magnetic crochet)
B) An increase in seismic activity
C) A total power failure
D) Radio frequency interference
  • 11. Why is it believed the CME traveled to Earth faster than typical CMEs?
A) Magnetic alignment with the moon
B) A prior CME had cleared the way of ambient solar wind
C) The Sun was at its peak solar maximum
D) Gravitational pull from Jupiter
  • 12. What potential damage could a storm of this magnitude cause today?
A) Widespread electrical disruptions and satellite damage
B) Global cooling of the climate
C) The loss of the atmosphere
D) A permanent shift in Earth's axis
  • 13. What did Richard Carrington say regarding his uncertainty about the solar-terrestrial connection?
A) The sun is but a shadow of the earth
B) One swallow does not make a summer
C) Lightning strikes twice
D) Nature is a mysterious clockwork
  • 14. Which mathematician compiled worldwide reports on the 1859 storm's effects?
A) Richard Carrington
B) Balfour Stewart
C) C. F. Herbert
D) Elias Loomis
  • 15. How were Carrington and Hodgson's solar flare reports published?
A) In a local newspaper in London
B) In a private diary entry
C) Side by side in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
D) Via telegram to the United States
  • 16. Which low latitude area reported seeing the aurora?
A) Iceland
B) Greenland
C) Colombia
D) Antarctica
  • 17. How bright was the aurora compared to the moon?
A) Equal to a sunset
B) Dimmer than the moon
C) Comparable to a candle
D) Greater than the full moon
  • 18. What did some people fear the aurora was a sign of?
A) A new solar age
B) The discovery of a new planet
C) Armageddon
D) A global volcanic eruption
  • 19. Where was the Australian gold miner C. F. Herbert working when he saw the aurora?
A) Brisbane, Queensland
B) Rokewood, Victoria
C) Perth, Western Australia
D) Sydney, New South Wales
  • 20. What color was the aurora frequently described as when reaching the zenith?
A) Bright orange
B) Deep green
C) Rich purple
D) Solid white
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