On the Statistical Relations Between Flare Intensity and Sunspots

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
A statistical analysis of data relating to nearly 4,000 solar flares for the periods 1947 January 1 to 1949 May 1 and 1956 January 1 to 1957 January 1 yielded the following principal results: ( a ) The intensity of a solar flare is dependent on the geometry of the associated sunspot magnetic field. The more complex the geometry, the greater the probability of an intense flare occurring. The intensity is independent of the rate of change in the area of the spot group. ( b ) The frequency of solar flares occurring in a given interval of time and associated with a given spot group is a linear function of the area of the spot group, and of the rate of change in that area. It is shown that, for the purpose of this work, the area of a spot group can be used as an approximate measure of the magnetic flux passing through that group. Thus, the relations between solar flares and spot area can be regarded as being the relations between solar flares and magnetic flux.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: