How are sunspots plotted?

Sunspots usually come in pairs and drift from the high latitudes of the Sun toward the equator. When sunspots are plotted according to their latitude and longitude, a very clear “butterfly pattern” develops within each cycle of approximately 11 years.

What is sunspot data?

The relative sunspot number is an index of the activity of the entire visible disk of the Sun. It is determined each day without reference to preceding days.

What is the current sunspot number?

Is solar cycle sunspot number progression?

The total number of sunspots has long been known to vary with an approximately 11-year repetition known as the solar cycle. The peak of sunspot activity is known as solar maximum and the lull is known as solar minimum. Solar cycles started being assigned consecutive numbers.

What is the 11 year sunspot cycle?

The Short Answer: The Sun’s magnetic field goes through a cycle, called the solar cycle. Every 11 years or so, the Sun’s magnetic field completely flips. This means that the Sun’s north and south poles switch places. Then it takes about another 11 years for the Sun’s north and south poles to flip back again.

How long do sunspots last on the Sun?

around eleven years
11-year Cycle – Usually! The duration of the sunspot cycle is, on average, around eleven years. However, the length of the cycle does vary. Between 1700 and the present, the sunspot cycle (from one solar min to the next solar min) has varied in length from as short as nine years to as long as fourteen years.

What happens if sunspots disappear?

Three studies suggest a decline in sun spots – to the point that they could largely vanish for a long period. That could lead to fewer solar storms, as well as a chance to study whether fewer sun spots leads to a cooler climate on Earth.

Are sunspots hotter or cooler?

Sunspots are darker, cooler areas on the surface of the sun in a region called the photosphere. The photosphere has a temperature of 5,800 degrees Kelvin. Sunspots have temperatures of about 3,800 degrees K. They look dark only in comparison with the brighter and hotter regions of the photosphere around them.

How many sunspots will there be in 2025?

Predicted Sunspot Number And Radio Flux

Can you predict sunspots?

Predicting Sunspot Numbers One knows the rate with which they will appear to produce the expected number of sunspots, but you can’t really predict when the next one will appear. Each sunspot cycle is different and there’s no reliable way to make a prediction.

How many sunspots will there be in 2020?

In a new article published November 24, 2020, in the peer-reviewed journal Solar Physics, the research team predicts that Sunspot Cycle 25 will peak with a maximum sunspot number somewhere between approximately 210 and 260, which would put the new cycle in the company of the top few ever observed.

Are sunspots hot or cold?

Sunspots are areas that appear dark on the surface of the Sun. They appear dark because they are cooler than other parts of the Sun’s surface. The temperature of a sunspot is still very hot though—around 6,500 degrees Fahrenheit!

Where can I find the sunspot number data?

Data in the form of reports and digital files are available for online viewing and download. Many data sets are also available through the Space Physics Interactive Data Resource (SPIDR) for selection and download. [The header and web page search is in an undisplayed frame – follow this link to view it]

What is the current number of sunspots in the world?

International Sunspot Number – Brief Description sunspot maximum and minimum 1610-present; annual numbers 1700-present; monthly numbers 1749-present; daily values 1818-present; and sunspot numbers by north and south hemisphere. The McNish-Lincoln sunspot prediction is also included. —- Download data

Is there a linear scale for the sunspot cycle?

Within a class there is a linear scale from 1 to 9. If one records the daily background X-ray levels for the course of a sunspot cycle, one would discover that the background X-ray levels remained at the A class level during the sunspot cycle minumum.

How are sunspots related to the solar cycle?

At the top is the Sunspot Number, in the middle, the F10.7cm Radio Flux, and at the bottom, the A p Index (a measure of geomagnetic activity) history. In all of the plots, the black line represents the monthly averaged data and the blue line represents a 13-month smoothed version of the monthly averaged data.