(C) NASA
This story was originally published by NASA and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Track the Solar Cycle with Sunspots [1]
[]
Date: 2024-10
Pro Tip:
Professionals typically use the Wolf method for counting sunspots (devised by Bern Observatory director Rudolf Wolf in the mid-1800s, then modified later to create precise long-term sunspot records). This method involves counting the number of sunspot groups (or clusters of sunspots) and multiplying the number of groups by 10, then adding the total number of individual sunspots. Single, independent sunspots are considered both a group and a sunspot (so one independent sunspot would count as 11, or 10 + 1). For example, if you count 5 groups and 23 total sunspots, the Wolf number would be 73 (5 groups x 10 for 50, plus 23 sunspots).
This method is useful because, when tracking sunspots and solar activity, the number of groups is more important than the number of spots. So the Wolf method gives the groups a greater “weight” by multiplying them by 10.
If you’d like to compare your sunspot counts to the professionals’, you can use the Wolf method. (If you need help identifying sunspot groups, visit this NASA webpage, which labels each group with a different number.) Or you can develop a counting method of your own. Just remember to use the same method every day!
Image: Sunspot groups are circled in this image of the Sun from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. Credit: NASA/SDO
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://science.nasa.gov/sun/track-the-solar-cycle-with-sunspots/
Published and (C) by NASA
Content appears here under this condition or license: Public Domain.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/nasa/
