The Maunder minimum: North-south asymmetry in sunspot formation,mean sunspot latitudes,and the butterfly diagram

An approach to reconstructing solar activity in the past is used to study its time evolution. It is already possible to reconstruct not only the general level of solar activity on long timescales, but also particular aspects of its development: sunspot dominance in either hemisphere, the drift and latitude spread of the sunspot-formation zone, and features in the spatial distribution of the activity at specific epochs, such as the Maunder minimum.     

Solar activity and Indian weather/climate

The literature on influences of solar activity on the Indian weather and climate is reviewed since the discovery of sunspot cycle. Fluctuations in solar activity are undoubtedly a factor affecting weather and climate. Although the results of some of the studies are conflicting, Indian weather and climate is, in general, inversely related to sunspots. However, the areal extent of floods in India seems to expand and contract in phase with the Hale double sunspot cycle, suggesting that the flood rhythm is in some manner controlled by long-term solar activity related to solar magnetic effects. All the evidences of solar influences on weather and climate may have practical implications in improving long-range forecasting of weather and climate, once the physical coupling mechanisms and their modification by other factors are clearly understood. Some of the promising plausible physical mechanisms for explaining solar effects on weather and climate are also discussed.     

基于小波变换的郑州降雨量与太阳黑子活动关系分析

为探究太阳黑子活动与地区降雨量的关联性,采用连续小波变换方法,分析了1980年以来郑州地区(新郑站点)降雨量和太阳黑子数的数据变化,并对不同时段两者的相关性进行研究;进一步对两者进行交叉小波变换和小波相干谱分析,并根据两者关系通过太阳黑子数观测值对降雨量进行预测。结果表明：(1)不同时段降雨量和太阳黑子数的相关性存在正负差异的现象。降雨量的第一主周期尺度是21 a,在此主周期尺度下得到14 a主周期;太阳黑子数的第一主周期尺度是16 a,在此主周期尺度下得到11 a主周期(与经验值相符)。降雨量与太阳黑子数的主周期相差了3 a,因此导致两者的相关性在不同时段存在正负差异。(2)降雨量与太阳黑子数在1992—2008年的8～12 a时间尺度上关联性显著,且降雨量比太阳黑子数存在规律性的时间滞后,两者在2～4 a和7～10 a的时间尺度上关联性较好;降雨量比太阳黑子数分别在1991—2004年和2006—2013年这两个时间段上呈现规律性的滞后,两者在其他时间段的各时间尺度上关联性不明显。(3)根据延迟年数经验公式,由太阳黑子数观测值对降雨量进行预测,最近的降雨量峰年在2022年附近,与2...     

Latitude characteristics of the sunspot formation zone and the 11-year solar activity cycle

Using data of the extended Greenwich sunspot catalog for 1874–2006, annual average values of some quantities characterizing the latitude distribution of sunspot activity have been calculated. The quantity describing the width of the sunspot formation zone is closely correlated with the corresponding Wolf numbers. A latitude characteristic has been found that demonstrates in a particular time interval in the fourth year after the maximum of the current 11-year cycle a high correlation with the Wolf number at the maximum of the next cycle. This time interval is characterized by extreme differences between the speeds of the motion of the mean latitude and the upper boundary of the sunspot formation zone. A model displaying good stability and enabling forecasting of the amplitudes of the next 11-year cycles is constructed based on the found correlation. According to these forecasts, the activity of the next (24th) cycle will be 20–30% higher than in the previous one.     

The sun-hurricane connection: Diagnosing the solar impacts on hurricane frequency over the North Atlantic basin using a space–time model

The authors define a spatio-statistical response of hurricane frequency to the solar cycle. Previous research indicates reduced (increased) hurricane intensities and frequency in the western (eastern) tropical Atlantic. However, no formal quantitative relationship has been spatially established between hurricane frequency and solar activity. The authors use a Bayesian hierarchical space–time model, an increasingly popular approach due to its advantage in facilitating regression modeling of space–time phenomena in the context of large data sets. Regional hurricane frequency over the period 1866–2010 is examined in response to September sunspot number (SSN) while controlling for other relevant climate factors. The response features a 13 % reduction in probability of annual hurricane occurrence for southeastern Cuba, the southern Bahama islands, Haiti, and Jamaica when the SSN is 80 sunspots. In contrast, hurricane risk in regions of the southeastern Atlantic is predicted to increase by 73 % when the SSN is 160 sunspots. The model can be ported to explore other relationships over contiguous space.     

太阳活动及其对地球环境的影响

太阳活动及其对地球环境影响的研究至今已发展成一门涉及太阳物理学、空间物理学和地球物理学的边缘学科,它研究三者的关系及相互作用的过程。本文将太阳活动分成缓变型和爆发型两类,分别介绍了它们的主要成员冕洞、总辐射、太阳黑子、太阳耀斑和日冕物质抛射的性质及特征;分别讨论了这两类太阳活动对地球环境的影响,还指出了太阳活动对固体地球的作用。     

Short-period variations in the proper motions of sunspots from SOHO (MDI) observations

Short-period (1–60 min) variations in the coordinates of the centers of gravity of isolated sunspots are analyzed. The sunspot coordinated were determined using two sets of observational data—magnetograms and intensities—obtained by SOHO (MDI) on December 6, 1998, from 01:00 to 21:57 UT with temporal resolution 60 s and spatial resolution 0.6″/pixel. A slow drift in the sunspot coordinates was removed using a low-frequency filter with a 61-min integration window. The guiding errors (RMS～0.014″) were determined by analyzing correlated motions in pairs of sunspots, and were removed from the time series before determining the sunspot proper motions. Based on the calculated power spectra for the sunspot proper motions, two period intervals containing appreciable power were identified. One coincides with the well-known 5-min acoustic solar oscillations. The concentration of power in this interval is greater for the coordinate variations derived the magnetograms than those derived from the intensities; the harmonic amplitude for some peaks reaches ～±30 km. The other spectral interval corresponds to periods exceeding 30 min. Overall, the rms short-period variations in the sunspot proper motions are 9.9±2.2 and 16.7±7.6 km (0.014″±0.003″ and 0.024″±0.010″) for the magnetogram and intensity data, respectively.     

Solar cyclicity during the Maunder minimum

A multifaceted statistical study of all available data on solar activity during the Maunder minimum (1645–1715) is presented. The data include European telescope observations, Asian sunspot observations using the unaided eye, concentrations of cosmogeneous isotopes, and catalogues of polar aurorae. Joint analyses of data on the cosmogeneous isotopes ¹⁰Be and ¹⁴C are a promising source of information on solar activity in the past. The dates of relative sunspot maxima during the Maunder minimum are consistent with the idea that there were chaotic bursts of solar activity randomly distributed in time during this interval. The available evidence that the 11-year cyclicity was preserved in 1645–1715 are worthy of attention but require additional deep study and verification. No convincing evidence for a 22-year periodicity of the occurrence of sunspots during the Maunder minimum has been found.     

The properties of long-term sunspot oscillations

It is shown that neglecting the motion of sunspots in the plane of the sky in pixels of SOHO MDI magnetograms obtained for the vertical direction results in false periods of 700–1300 min in the long-term oscillations of the magnetic fields of sunspots observed near the central meridian (the Y artefact). The oscillation mode proposed by Efremov, Parfinenko, and Solov’ev in 2012 to be the lowest-frequency sunspot mode is an artefact. A proposed technique for monitoring this artefact using wavelet transforms can be used to study oscillation periods in the range 15 min < T < 500 min. The observational dependence of the oscillation frequency of the sunspot magnetic field on the field strength is constructed using observations of 45 sunspots. This dependence shows a multimode behavior that is consistent with earlier ground observations. One interpretation of this dependence based on the existence of four geometrical oscillation modes detected earlier is proposed.     

The latitude distributions of sunspots and its North-South asymmetry

The temporal variations observed in the monthly mean latitudes of sunspot groups are studied over 1874–2010 using the data of the Greenwich Catalog and its NOAA-USEF extension. The 11-year cycle is quite clear in the temporal variations of the monthly mean latitudes of sunspot groups (i.e., of the centers of spotting) in both the northern and southern hemispheres. The North-South (N-S) asymmetry in the latitudes of sunspot groups defined as the difference between the absolute values of sunspot latitudes observed in the N and S hemispheres is compared with the N-S asymmetry in the total area of sunspot groups determined on the scales of 11 years and longer. The N-S asymmetry is interpreted as an imbalance in the hemispheres’ powers (asymmetry in the total area of sunspot groups) and as spatial imbalance (asymmetry in the latitudes of the centers of spotting). This imbalance is most clearly seen at the solar minima, i.e., in the gradual transition from one cycle to the other, when the absolute values of the asymmetries observed both in the total sunspot area and in the sunspot latitudes reach their maxima. The results obtained here can be helpful for analyses of the solar dynamo.     

The microwave radiation of the corona above a large single sunspot in right- and left-circular polarization

Results of a study of the corona above a large sunspot in the active region NOAA 10105 with a penumbra size of ～70″ observed in September 2002 are reported. Maps of the active region and emission spectra were constructed using observational data from the NoRH, SSRT, and RATAN-600 telescopes. The sizes and brightness temperatures of the microwave emission above the sunspot are determined. SOHO/MDI and Kitt Peak magnetograms, as well as CaII K line images obtained at the Meudon Observatory, are compared. The derived characteristics are interpreted as cyclotron emission of thermal plasma, assuming a dipole structure for themagnetic field. A stable darkening at the sunspot center observed at short wavelengths and only in the ordinary emission mode was detected. A jump-like change was observed in the structure of the sunspot source in the ordinary emission mode, due to an increase in the size and spectral flux density. These results demand a fundamental correction of model concepts about cyclotron emission sources above sunspots, since they are at variance with the initial assumptions. It is suggested that, at the top of the transition region, the cyclotron emission source may be represented only by the third gyrolevel, but is observed in the extraordinary and ordinary emission modes (in contrast to the generally accepted model, which has a combination of the second and third gyrolevels). Taking into account the new observational data may allow us to refine model distributions of the main parameters of the coronal plasma above sunspots (the electron temperature and density) and information about the character of the magnetic field.     

Structure of the magnetic field at altitudes of 1–1.15 solar radii

An analysis of the characteristics of unipolar structures detected at latitudes from ?40? to +40?, longitudes of 0??360?, and altitudes of 1–1.15 solar radii during the period from May 1996 (the 23rd solar minimum) to October 2000 (the 23rd solar maximum) has been carried out. Synoptic maps of the solar radial magnetic field calculated in a potential approximation are used. The boundaries between unipolar structures with opposite magnetic polarities (“+/?” and “?/+” polarities) form chains extending along meridians at all the considered latitudes and altitudes. Depending on the latitude, the single-peaked distributions of the number of structures found at the lowest altitudes are replaced by double-peaked distributions at higher altitudes. The time variations of the total number of structures are non-monotonic. The growth in the number of unipolar structures begins before the growth in the Wolf number. This indicates that new unipolar structures already appear together with flocculi, preceding the formation of sunspots. It is found that structures with positive field have larger mean sizes that do structures with negative field. The polar field in the northern hemisphere penetrates to middle latitudes of the southern hemisphere. The existence of sets of structures with typical sizes is shown. The sizes of the smallest structures vary little with latitude, but increase slightly with altitude.     

青海德令哈地区近400年来的降水量变化与太阳活动

使用多种数学统计方法分析了德令哈地区降水量变化与太阳活动之间的关系,发现近400年来降水量的长期变化与太阳黑子周期长度(SCL)和太阳黑子周期上升支长度之间存在着较好的反相关关系,当SCL偏短、太阳黑子周期上升支长度偏短时,太阳活动偏强,德令哈地区降水量偏多,反之偏少。功率谱和小波分析发现降水量序列中存在着与太阳活动的多种周期相一致的周期,对降水量与太阳活动在不同时间尺度上周期变化之间的关系进行了详细分析。交叉小波分析发现太阳活动主要在百年左右尺度的周期变化上影响德令哈地区降水量的长期变化,太阳活动周期变化的信号越强,对降水量变化的影响越大。文章最后对太阳活动影响德令哈地区降水量变化的可能机制进行了探讨。     

Impulse-like behavior of the sunspot activity

Gnevyshev’s hypothesis of time space organization of sunspot activity over the solar surface like impulses is considered. Using numerical simulation it was shown that complex solar cycle shape can be explained by distribution of impulses in the northern and southern hemispheres. For long solar cycles, impulses at higher latitudes breaking Sp?rer’s law were found. Comparison of the time-latitude diagrams of solar magnetic fields and impulses has shown that each wave of new polarity to the poles is accompanied by impulse of sunspot activity.     

Worldwide features of the strength of recurrent geomagnetic activity

Variation of the strength of recurrent geomagnetic activity, which occurs just before a sunspot minimum, with local time is studied for a network of observatories covering different latitude and longitude zones. For this purpose, hourly averages of horizontal intensity(H) for each UT hour for 173 days, which are totally free of disturbances due to solar transients, have been subjected to spectral analysis. Well-defined spectral peaks associated with periodicities of 28, 14 and 9 days were present in almost all the spectra. The pattern of daily variation of the strength of the 27-day signal changes from a diurnal one at low latitudes to a semi-diurnal one near the Sq focus and in this region, the 14-day signal appears to have an independent origin irrespective of the longitude zone. A study of 27-day oscillation in mean dailyH field also indicates that apart from ring current modulation, both Sq and electrojet fields also undergo 27-day oscillations during the declining phase of a solar cycle possibly through the ionospheric wind system.     

The subphotospheric structure of a sunspot

Local helioseismology techniques yielding the temperature and flow-velocity distributions under a sunspot indicate an unambiguous sign for the horizontal gas-pressure difference between the spot and ambient medium at depths of 4 Mm and more. In the Parker sunspot model, the transverse equilibrium condition cannot be satisfied in these layers: a cluster of vertical, strongly compressed magnetic flux tubes in a plasma that is hotter than the ambient medium with flows that diverge sidewise cannot be in equilibrium. Equilibrium can be satisfied in the hot zone under the spot only if the magnetic flux tube expands sharply with depth, so that the mean magnetic-field strength decreases dramatically at depths exceeding 4 Mm. This corresponds to the “shallow” sunspot model that has been used to interpret long-period sunspot oscillations.     

Formation of complex rotational structures in convective and isothermal magnetized zones

We study the development of a complex rotation law in the magnetized convective and isothermal zones of stars and planetary atmospheres through the decomposition of vector quantities in terms of orthogonal vector spherical harmonics. In the case of a solar-type extended convective zone, it is assumed that (a) the transformation of thermal into magnetic energy is favorable from the viewpoint of energy balance, (b) the state that is supported with minimum energy loss is realized, and (c) the condition of minimum entropy production consistent with the two previous requirements is satisfied. To find the rotation law of a zone, weak interaction between variations in the rotation and magnetic-field distributions is assumed. Two possible zones of generation of the solar magnetic field are considered. The first is located in the lower half of the solar convective zone and possesses a latitude dependence of the rotational velocity similar to that observed. The second zone is located just below the surface, and has a rotational velocity that decreases sharply with height and depends only weakly on latitude. We also study simple equilibrium structures, in particular, those describing the super-rotation of the medium in a convective or isothermal zone. Realization of such super-rotation in an isothermal zone is associated with the outflow of matter and fields toward upper layers.     

Study of the Magnetic Properties of Sunspot Umbrae

Astronomy Reports - The paper presents the results of the study of sunspots, obtained by the authors and other researchers in recent years. The results regarding the atmosphere above sunspot...     

Longitude and latitude structure of the polar activity of the Sun in the 21st cycle

A catalog of observations of polar faculae by the Mountain Astronomical Station of the Pulkovo Observatory (Kislovodsk) for the 21st polar-activity cycle of the Sun (1972–1976) has been compiled. The mean annual and semiannual longitude distributions of the facular surface density have been constructed for latitude bands from 35 to 85° with steps of 10° in latitude and 30° in longitude in polar (the “wind roses”) and cylindrical projections, using a Bartels coordinate-grid rotation system. Coherent spatial structures in these distributions, which are characteristically elongated in two mutually perpendicular directions (i.e., they have an “X”-like appearance), can be identified. The high-latitude activity in the northern and southern hemispheres tends to be in spatial antiphase. This behavior corresponds to a four-sector global polar-activity structure. This indicates the presence of a magnetic-field source that is not associated with the differential rotation of the sun and modulates the evolution of local magnetic fields.     

The phase shift between the hemispheres in the solar activity cycle

The shift between the solar activity cycles in the northern and southern hemispheres of the Sun is studied using data on sunspot number and area. The data obtained are compared with archival information on episodes of appreciable solar-cycle asymmetry. The small phase shift between recent activity cycles in the northern and southern solar hemispheres differs considerably from the shift for episodes of appreciable deviations from dipolar symmetry in the sunspot distribution detected with various degrees of confidence in archival astronomical data from the 17th–19th centuries. The current time shift between the hemispheres is insignificant, about 6–7 months. This shift has changed its sign twice in recent solar history; this probably corresponds to more or less periodic variations with a timescale close to the duration of the Gleissberg cycle.