Transcription
Today we are going over the best way to determine if a sunspot is going to produce a large solar flare. While size matters, as almost all big flares are from big sunspots, not all big sunspots make them. The difference comes in the form of their magnetic complexity, also known as sunspot classification.
These classes are alpha, beta, gamma, and delta class, with gamma and delta having the best chance to make big flares. Alpha means there's just one polarity. It could be positive (blue) or negative (red), and the peripheral surface magnetism doesn't matter. It's all about the sunspot umbra. These almost never flare.
Beta class sunspots have both positive and negative polarities and do often produce smaller flares, but not as often the big ones. Negative right, positive left.
In this image, up next is gamma class. This is when the same polarity sunspots within a sunspot group are split apart rather rather than grouped together. Here, the positive blue spots are separated by the red negative core, and so it takes the gamma class. Technically beta-gamma, since it has both requirements.
But the most flare-happy of all classifications is the delta class sunspots. These are when the blue and red are in close proximity, almost mashed against one another, which you can see in the middle here. We also see the separation of like-polarity sunspots. So this is actually beta-gamma-delta, and the same goes for this one.
Both polarities are present, that's beta class. The blue spots split the red negative spots, that's the gamma class. And there is close mixing of the spots in the middle, delta class. It's that simple. The gamma and delta class structures produce the most flares.
Below this video is the entire space weather learning playlist. Learn about space weather, solar activity, and its impact on Earth with that playlist below, and I will see you in the morning for The Daily Show. Be safe, everyone.