The Biggest Solar Storm in History …and how it wiped out communications on Earth.
It was the 2 September 1859. The clipper ship Southern Cross was off Chile when, at 1:30am, it sailed into a living hell. Hailstones from above and waves from all around whipped the deck. When the wind-lashed ocean spray fell away to leeward, the men noticed they were sailing in an ocean of blood. The colour was reflected from the sky, which, they could see – even through the clouds – was wreathed in an all-encompassing red glow.