← All famous nights
Famous Nights · 1 September 1859

The night the aurora reached London

«The night the sky caught fire»

1 September 1859 — the Carrington Event, the greatest solar storm on record. Aurora blazed over London, telegraphs sparked on their own, and people read newspapers by the glow at midnight. Beneath the fire, these stars. Every star in its true position. What's your night?

London, United Kingdom · 1 September 1859 · 23:00 local · 51.5074° N · 0.1278° W

Now map your own night — from £26.99 The configurator below is already set to this sky. Change the date to yours.
The night the aurora reached London — star map art print
The short film

Eight seconds over London.

The era scene is an AI reconstruction. The sky above it is not — every star is computed from astronomical data for 1 September 1859, 23:00 local time.

Your sky.

£44.99
Design code:
Keep exploring

Other famous nights.

The sky over London the night of the royal wedding, 1981
29 July 1981
A day of fireworks and fairy tales
The sky over Wembley the night England won the World Cup
30 July 1966
They think it's all over
The sky the minute MTV went on air
1 August 1981
Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll
The night they strung a wire between the Twin Towers
7 August 1974
There is no why
Tonight: the best meteor shower of the year
12 August 2026
Look up tonight
The sky over Woodstock, opening night
15 August 1969
Three days of peace and music
The night Abbey Road arrived
26 September 1969
And in the end…
The night a lookout shouted one word
12 October 1492
Tierra
The night the gate opened
9 November 1989
Sofort, unverzüglich
The night the century turned
31 December 1999
The lights stayed on