Researchers said on Monday the solar storm - the sun sending a large burst of energetic particles into space - occurred 14,300 years ago. Nine such extreme solar storms now have been identified using tree-ring radiocarbon evidence, with the most recent in 774 and 993 AD. The largest directly observed solar storm, called the Carrington Event, occurred in 1859, wreaking havoc on telegraphs and creating a nighttime aurora so bright that birds sang as if the sun was rising. The effects of solar storms can disable electronics. "If similar solar storms happened today, they could be catastrophic for society, as we are so reliant upon technology," Heaton said.

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Persons: Cecile Miramont, eked, Tim Heaton, Heaton, Edouard Bard, Cécile Miramont, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, University of Leeds, Engineering Sciences, Marseille University, Thomson Locations: Gap, Handout, England, France, paleoclimates, Aix, Washington