Explore the science of solar storms, and find out why they occur and just how prepared we are for a major event.

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In September 1859, miners following the Colorado gold rush woke up to another sunny day. Or so they thought. To their surprise, they soon discovered it was actually 1am and the sky wasn’t lit by the sun, but rather by brilliant drapes of light. The blazing glow was a solar storm— the largest in recorded history. So what exactly is a solar storm? Fabio Paccuci explains this astrophysical phenomena.

Lesson by Fabio Pacucci, directed by Nick Hilditch.

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View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-the-sun-could-crash-your-internet-fabio-pacucci
Dig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-the-sun-could-crash-your-internet-fabio-pacucci#digdeeper

Animator's website: http://nickhilditch.com
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