Open AccessThe Dependence of Solar Flare Magnitude on sunspot Area During Activity Cycle 24
Author(s) -
Lucy Will,
Ellis A. Avallone,
Xudong Sun
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
research notes of the aas
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2515-5172
DOI - 10.3847/2515-5172/ac573b
Subject(s) - sunspot , flare , geostationary operational environmental satellite , physics , solar flare , magnitude (astronomy) , astrophysics , geostationary orbit , flux (metallurgy) , atmospheric sciences , satellite , magnetic field , astronomy , chemistry , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics
We measure the sunspot areas of activity cycle 24 using ten years of continuum images from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager, and compare them with the peak flare soft X-ray flux from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite. We find that the sunspot area in our sample is positively correlated with the magnitude of the largest flare they produce. Complex spot groups with βγδ magnetic classification tend to be larger and more likely to produce intense flares. Our findings are qualitatively consistent with previous studies.