Solar eruptions and their ionospheric effects—A classical observation and its new interpretation

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Abstract
The important discovery that bright eruptions in the solar chromosphere cause simultaneous radio fade‐outs and distinct terrestrial magnetic effects has been announced and discussed in the last issues of this JOURNAL. J. A. Fleming, giving an outline of the bearing of this new evidence on theories of the ionosphere and terrestrial‐magnetic variations, mentions that Carrington and Young nearly 80 years ago interpreted certain observations as indicating the simultaneity of solar eruptions and magnetic disturbances, but that this opinion was abandoned by other investigators because they looked for it in vain in the great magnetic storms. If the radio fade‐outs had not given such strong evidence of ionospheric disturbances simultaneous with solar eruption, it is not impossible that the comparatively small, though distinct terrestrial‐magnetic effects would still have escaped detection.This discovery has been made possible by the increase in the program of spectroscopic, ionospheric, and terrestrial‐magnetic observations, and by the comparative frequency with which intense fade‐outs occur (21 fade‐outs in the year 1936, of which at least 13 were accompanied by visible solar eruptions). As the observational material for great magnetic disturbances increases much more slowly, with only a few cases during each sunspot‐maximum, we have still to rely on the numerous discussions of the relationship to sunspots, which may be interpreted 2 evidence for solar corpuscles, traveling about a day from the Sun 1 the Earth. Because of the rarity mentioned, and not only for historic reasons, it may be of interest to recall here the original records of the classical case which started the controversy.
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