# Scientists solve 1840s space weather mystery

> Researchers correct a 30-year-old Nature report that misplaced a geomagnetic storm by seven years.
- Title: Scientists solve 1840s space weather mystery · Ars Technica
- Summary: Researchers correct a 30-year-old Nature report that misplaced a geomagnetic storm by seven years. Scientists traced a misidentified eighteen forty-one…
- Keywords: geomagnetic storms, space weather, carrington event, greenwich magnetic observatory, exeter railway, telegraph systems, jim wild, lancaster university, technology, science, Scientists, solve
- Source: Ars Technica — https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/09/scientists-solve-1840s-space-weather-mystery
- Published: 2026-09-28T17:56:36+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: geomagnetic storms, space weather, carrington event, greenwich magnetic observatory, exeter railway, telegraph systems, jim wild, lancaster university, technology, science
## The Carrington Event and earlier storms
The eighteen fifty-nine Carrington Event was long thought the first extreme space weather event. But reports emerged of telegraph disruptions from the late eighteen forties.
## An 1841 railway delay claim
An anonymous eighteen seventy-one Nature article described a magnetic disturbance that delayed an express train in Exeter, England in October eighteen forty-one.
## The date doesn't match the tracks
Jim Wild of Lancaster University and colleagues found the South Devon Railway between Exeter and Plymouth wasn't approved until July eighteen forty-four and opened May thirty, eighteen forty-six.
## Identifying the anonymous author
Wild's team traced the article to Nathaniel John Holmes, an electrical engineer involved in undersea telegraph cables. Holmes lived near Nature editor Sir Norman Lockyer.
## No evidence for eighteen forty-one
Greenwich Observatory records showed no unusual magnetic activity on October eighteen, eighteen forty-one. But strong geomagnetic storms occurred around October eighteen, eighteen forty-eight.
## The typo theory confirmed
Railway timetables showed a ten oh-five pm express train from Exeter ran between March eighteen forty-eight and July eighteen forty-nine. Wild's team concluded eighteen forty-one was a typographical error.
## An earlier storm takes the record
With eighteen forty-eight confirmed, the earliest documented space weather affecting technology is a March eighteen forty-seven incident of spontaneous electrical currents disrupting telegraph systems on the Midland Railway.
## Why this history matters today
Understanding past geomagnetic storms helps scientists predict and mitigate damage from future events. A storm like Carrington today would cripple power grids and satellite communications.

> Space weather is often discussed as a modern challenge because of our dependence on technologies such as satellites, communications systems and electricity networks.
## Key takeaway

Scientists traced a misidentified eighteen forty-one railway disruption to eighteen forty-eight, revealing the earliest documented case of space weather damaging electrical technology.