Trivandrum Observatory records shed new light on Carrington Event of 1859

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A study based on historical magnetic observations from the Trivandrum Observatory has provided new insights into the Carrington Event of 1859, one of the most powerful geomagnetic storms ever recorded.

The findings by Kerala University faculty have been published in the international peer-reviewed journal Astrophysics and Space Science.

The research, led by R. Jayakrishnan, Head, Department of Physics and Honorary Director, Trivandrum Astronomical Observatory, provides evidence that the Carrington Event was preceded and followed by a sequence of solar plasma ejections that interacted with the Earth’s magnetic field over several weeks.

The findings indicate that the cumulative impact of these successive solar events may have contributed to the exceptional intensity of the geomagnetic storm recorded on September 2, 1859.

Fazil C.K., project research assistant at the observatory, and Ajesh, faculty member, Department of Physics, are the co-authors of the paper. 

The research draws on bifilar magnetometer records from the Trivandrum Observatory, which remained preserved in Scotland for more than 160 years. The records were taken to Scotland in the 1870s by John Allan Broun, then Director of the Trivandrum Observatory after his retirement. Broun intended to analyse and publish the observations, with support from the then King of Travancore.

Following his death, the records passed to the Royal Society of London, subsequently to the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and were finally entrusted to the National Library of Scotland in 2010.

The authors traced the archival journey of the records and identified their scientific significance. The rediscovery received further impetus following the visit of Anna Szolucha, an anthropologist from Jagiellonian University, Poland, to the Observatory in April 2025.

She subsequently supported the effort to access and preserve the historical collection in Scotland. More than 7,000 documents were scanned over 10 days, providing the researchers with a valuable historical dataset for analysis.

According to Prof. Jayakrishnan, the analysis reveals a series of geomagnetic disturbances associated with solar activity between 14 August and 15 September 1859, culminating in the exceptionally intense event of 2 September. The study suggests that successive coronal mass ejections (CMEs) may have preconditioned Earth’s magnetosphere, influencing the severity of the subsequent geomagnetic disturbance. The magnetic field also took an extended period to recover following the event.

The findings offer new perspectives on the behaviour of successive solar eruptions and their cumulative effects on Earth’s magnetosphere. The researchers state that the results have implications for contemporary space-weather research, including the modelling of geomagnetic storms, satellite safety and preparedness for extreme space-weather events. 

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