A "perfect space storm" that occurred 144 years ago could happen again at any time - with catastrophic consequences, scientists have warned. Newly uncovered scientific data has shown the true extent of history's most massive electromagnetic storm which blew up on the first two days of September 1859. Like "the perfect storm" at sea which inspired a blockbuster movie, it was the result of a number of titanic events coming together. But in this case the centre of the storm was the sun, not the ocean. A combination of sunspots and solar flares produced an explosive release of magnetically charged gas and particles which sped towards the Earth. When the storm struck, the effects had a huge impact even on the limited technological landscape of the 19th century. Within hours, telegraph wires in both the United States and Europe spontaneously shorted out, causing numerous fires. People were amazed as the Northern Lights - caused by charged solar particles bombarding the atmosphere near the northern magnetic pole - illuminated the sky as far south as Rome, Havana and Hawaii.

Dr Bruce Tsurutani, a plasma physicist at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, who has investigated the event, said: "What happened in 1859 was a combination of several events that occurred on the sun at the same time. "If they took place separately they would be somewhat notable events. But together they create the most potent disruption of Earth's ionosphere in recorded history. What they generated was the perfect space storm."

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