1841 rail delay was not the earliest space weather event

A report of a major magnetic disturbance disrupting rail travel in Exeter in 1841 was likely a typo, researchers say. The disruption probably occurred years later. The discovery challenges the idea that the Carrington Event of 1859 was the first extreme space weather event to impact technology. The study highlights how space weather has affected human technology for nearly as long as electrical systems have existed. The Carrington Event remains the most powerful geomagnetic storm on record, causing widespread telegraph disruptions and even fires.