Space.com reports that the solar storm that hit the earth late last week was a meer bag of shells compared to the one that hit the earth in 1859.

As you can imagine technology was primative in 1859 compared to now, however, the torent of electrons that rained upon the earth created havoc. It caused telegraph wires to suddenly short out in the United States and Europe which ignited widespread fires. The colourful aurora, normally visible only in polar regions, was seen as far south as Rome and Hawaii. A whole Canadian province lost power.

If it caused that much damage then just imagine what the next one will do to our delicate telecommunications technology today. The big question is whether/when to expect the next storm of this magnitude. There would be a lot of money in it for someone who could answer it.

One sobering thought however, is that approximately half the worlds population doesn't even have electricity yet. The cycle of life for these individuals will continue largely unchanged while the industrialised west wrings it hands at the mayhem that the storm creates.

Read more about it here.