So far, the auroras we have seen are a funny phenomenon, but they have not caused any problems on the ground. However, a series of aurora borealis over several days in 1859 was so powerful that it disrupted telegraph service in North America and Europe—and even caused small fires in some telegraph offices, including one in Springfield.
The Carrington event — named for the British astronomer who associated it with large sunspots and a flash of light so bright it temporarily blinded him the day before — did not appear to have damaged equipment on the American Telegraph Co. line. between downtown Boston and Portland, but it did lead to an interesting experiment both on that line and on a line between South Braintree and Providence: Operators turned off the batteries that normally powered the lines and still managed to keep outputting messages for up to two hours , using the electric current generated in the wires by magnetic waves from the upper atmosphere.
The September 2 event, still considered the most powerful geomagnetic storm in recorded history – creating displays seen as far south as Havana and Jamaica – was preceded a few days earlier by another round of less intense but still again brilliant – and telegraph-disturbing auroral events in North America.
Four months later, the American Journal of Science and Arts provided a series of telegraph operators’ accounts of what happened, including one by George B. Prescott, telegraph superintendent of the American Telegraph Co. office. in Boston, at 31 State St. ., which discussed both the events of August 28 and September 2:
The effects of the magnetic storm of August 28, 1859, were evident on the cables during a considerable part of Saturday evening and all day Sunday. At 6 p.m. the line to New Bedford (60 miles in length, running a little west of south) could only be run at intervals, though of course no sign of the Aurora Borealis was visible to the eye at that hour. The same was true of the wires running east through Maine, as well as those running north toward Montreal. The wire between Boston and Fall River had no battery connected to it on Sunday, but still had current all day, causing the electromagnet keepers to open and close as the waves rose and receded. …
On Friday, September 2nd, 1859, on commencing work at 8 o’clock in the morning, it was found that all the cables issuing from the office were so much affected by the auroral contents as to prevent any work being done except with great difficulty. At this junction it was suggested that the batteries be cut off and the cables simply connected to ground. The Boston operator accordingly asked the Portland operator to disconnect his battery and try to operate on the auroral current alone. The operator from Portland replied, “I did. Will you do the same?” The operator from Boston replied, “I disconnected my battery and grounded the line. We only work with the power from the Aurora Borealis. How do you take what I wrote? “Very well indeed,” joined the operator from Portland; “much better than with batteries on.” There is much less fluctuation in current and the magnets work more stably. Suppose we keep going like this until the aurora dies down?” “Agreed,” said the Boston operator. “Ready to work?” “Yes; go ahead,” was the reply. The Boston operator then began to send private messages, which he was able to do much better than when the batteries were on, and continued to use the cable in this way for about two hours, when the Aurora having subsided, the batteries were resumed.
While this singular phenomenon was occurring on the wire between Boston and Portland, the operator at South Braintree—Miss Sarah B. Allen—informed me that she was working on the wire between that station and Fall River—a distance of about forty miles south—with only the auroral stream. I have since visited Fall River, and the statement was confirmed by the intelligent railroad operator at the depot in that village. …
Such was the condition of the line on the 2nd of September of last year, when for nearly two hours they kept up the wire by the aid of the sky batteries alone!
Also provided information from the Springfield Telegraph Office, JE Selden, who discussed the geomagnetic storm of August 28:
On the evening of August 28, on the Boston and New York circuit, there was at one moment a very strong current on the wire, and the next none. On the Albany and Springfield Circuit, a lightning bolt ran across from the switch of the telegraph apparatus to the iron frame, the flame of which was about half the size of an ordinary jet of gas. It was accompanied by a buzzing like a strong current passing between two metal points almost in contact. The head was enough to make the smell of grained wood and paint come through clearly.
But what did it look like in the sky? Much, much brighter than the displays we get now. In its next issue, the paper published a series of reports, including one by Dr. Henry C. Perkins of Newburyport, who described both nights, beginning with the aurora on August 28. Around 9:30 p.m., he announced:
The merry dancers sprang from the northern heavens, and at 10 p.m. the whole firmament was aglow with bands, crimson, yellow, and white, gathered in fluttering glittering folds, a little to the south and east of the zenith, forming a canopy of the richest hues and the most magnificent texture. The light was examined with a polariscope and found to be unpolarized. The stars were so lost in the glow that it was somewhat difficult to make out the constellations. The print could be read using a small lens, and the time ascertained by the watch by the simple light of the aurora borealis.
On the evening of September 1st the aurora was quite bright, and about a quarter to one (September 2nd) it spread very rapidly and soon covered the whole sky. For about an hour the spectacle was magnificent, forming a perfect dome of alternating red and green bands, and the light so strong that a simple print could be read as easily as in the daytime. Continue until morning.
