They call it “the day the sun brought darkness.”

The Great Québec Blackout

MARCH 12, 2021 / DR.TONY PHILLIPS (Source: spaceweatherarchive.com)

March 13, 2021: They call it “the day the sun brought darkness.” On March 13, 1989, a powerful coronal mass ejection (CME) hit Earth’s magnetic field. Ninety seconds later, the Hydro-Québec power grid failed. During the 9 hour blackout that followed, millions of Quebecois found themselves with no light or heat, wondering what was going on?

“It was the biggest geomagnetic storm of the Space Age,” says Dr. David Boteler, head of the Space Weather Group at Natural Resources Canada. “March 1989 has become the archetypal disturbance for understanding how solar activity can cause blackouts.”

 

Much is still unknown about the March 1989 event. It occurred long before modern satellites were monitoring the sun 24/7. To piece together what happened, Boteler has sifted through old records of radio emissions, magnetograms, and other 80s-era data sources. He recently published a paper in the research journal Space Weather summarizing his findings — including a surprise:

“There were not one, but two CMEs,” he says.

The sunspot that hurled the CMEs toward Earth, region 5395, was one of the most active sunspot groups ever observed. In the days around the Quebec blackout it produced more than a dozen M- and X-class solar flares. Two of the explosions (an X4.5 on March 10th and an M7.3 on March 12th) targeted Earth with CMEs.

“The first CME cleared a path for the second CME, allowing it to strike with unusual force,” says Boteler. “The lights in Québec went out just minutes after it arrived.”

Among space weather researchers, there has been a dawning awareness in recent years that great geomagnetic storms such as the Carrington Event of 1859 and The Great Railroad Storm of May 1921 are associated with double (or multiple) CMEs, one clearing the path for another. Boteler’s detective work shows that this is the case for March 1989 as well.

The March 1989 event kicked off a flurry of conferences and engineering studies designed to fortify grids. Emanuel Bernabeu’s job at PJM is largely a result of that “Québec epiphany.” He works to protect power grids from space weather — and he has some good news.

“We have made lots of progress,” he says. “In fact, if the 1989 storm happened again today, I believe Québec would not lose power. The modern grid is designed to withstand an extreme 1-in-100 year geomagnetic event. To put that in perspective, March 1989 was only a 1-in-40 or 50 year event–well within our design specs.”

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SPACEWEATHER.COM NEWS: March 13, 2024

THE DAY THE SUN BROUGHT DARKNESS: Thirty-five years ago today, the greatest solar storm of the Space Age engulfed our planet. A powerful coronal mass ejection (CME) hit Earth early on March 13, 1989, and within 90 seconds, the entire Hydro-Québec power grid failed. During the 9-hour blackout that followed, millions of Quebecois found themselves with no light or heat. Happy Anniversary? Maybe. Power grids are better prepared today, and might be able to withstand a similar storm in 2024. 

 

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THE TRECENA OF ROAD/EB: The Sacred Journey of Time
MAYAN CALENDAR DAYKEEPER’S JOURNAL
9 Sun/AHAU, Cherokee, Flower/GUN’TSI EK, Destiny Kin 100, Position 20 (zero)
March 13, 2024 (03/13/2024); Last Round: June 27, 2023 (06/27/2023)

Visit the 13-Day Trecena Guide for the “Tzolk’in Field Guide: A Daily Practice for Personal Discernment.” Volume 1 covers Seasons 1 and 2; Volume 2 completes Seasons 3 and 4.

The Road/EB trecena falls in the 2nd Season, found in Volume 1.

9 Sun/AHAU, Cherokee, Flower/GUN’TSI EK – Day 9 of 13 of the 1 Road/EB Trecena

Descriptions by Ian Xel Lungold, 12 Sun/AHAU, from the calculator he created and shared along with his wisdom at MayanMajix.com

Galactic Tone 9: Patience. The energy of Nine is one of the getting a better perspective of the bigger picture. With the energy of Nine plans or patterns begin to come to completion. Nine requires patience and perseverance that is found in the bigger picture, otherwise there is great suffering from the lack of insight. The completion of cycles of action is all-important to Nine.

Sun/AHAU: Day of the ancestors and connection to their guidance. The divine face of the sun – lord, musician, singer, dancer, and marksman. Suns are artistic, heroic athletes, visionaries with wise judgment who lead and defend the people. So much is expected from themselves and by other people that unfulfilled expectations are a certainty. An accumulation of these disappointments may lead Sun to evade responsibilities, not accept corrections and even build resentment and disdain towards others. Suns should simplify their lives to be able to rise and shine with unconditional love once again.

A GOOD DAY TO: Ask for the Wisdom and the continued honored memory of our Ancestors.

Cherokee, Flower/GUN’TSI EK: Symbol is the Sun, place of abode of Great Spirit. The Sun creates, nurtures, and is the super communicator, the way station that relays messages and energy from other stars in the galaxy; provides energy for channeling information from the Ancestors; speaking the Living Language of Light, which ignites the consciousness in others. Gold is the color of courage and opportunity of wealth. Creative arts, master craftsman expressing divinity and wisdom through their creations. The face of the flower follows the Sun gathering the fire of creativity, illuminating harmony and balance, resonating peace and continuity within the human spirit. This is the Sign of the Chalice of the Infinite, Caldron of Creation.

[Text in italics was the primary source of inspiration for my journal. These are the sources that started my journey and they are the reference for interpretation each day. By providing the original text, I hope to offer a way to see what inspired my thoughts and by including all the aspects – allow for something more to inspire you. Mayan descriptions are those written by Ian Lungold. Cherokee descriptions came from multiple sources. Links to sources and other resources of study are offered on the Daykeeper Resources Page. ~Debra]