Sparks showering from telegraph machines, operators receiving electric shocks and papers set ablaze by the rogue sparks. The Carrington Event of 1859 was no joke - even the northern lights were witnessed as far south as Honolulu, Hawaii.

Observed by UK astronomer Richard Carrington, this global geomagnetic disturbance was caused by a massive solar flare, believed to be the first ever and the largest solar storm ever recorded.  Up until that point, no one knew or considered the consequences of a solar flare on the Earth and man-made technology.

As if we hadn’t had it hard enough lately, scientists say there’s a 0.7% chance of a Carrington class storm per year, so we can add that to the growing list of potential apocalyptic events to come.