The 660 BCE Miyake Event

What happened

One of the earliest confirmed Miyake events, identified through radiocarbon spikes in tree rings and independently corroborated by beryllium and chlorine isotopes in ice cores. Refined dating published in 2024, using new measurements from Arctic-Siberian larch tree rings, narrowed its timing to 664-663 BCE and found a radiocarbon production rate 3.2 to 4.8 times the normal solar modulation — comparable in scale to the 774-775 AD event. Separately, researchers have identified real Assyrian astrological cuneiform tablets from around this same period recording unusual sky phenomena, among the earliest datable candidate auroral records in human history.