Images showing 3 sunspots on the disk all with a delta type configuration.
Delta, Delta, Delta!
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According to NOAA and NASA the Sun has officially reached the Solar Maximum as of mid-October, 2024. The current solar cycle 25 started in December 2019 with the first active region of the cycle NOAA 12753 (see these NOAA reports). It turns out that more than 1100 active regions have been born and passed in the current solar cycle so far. Compared with other phases of solar cycle, we now see a greater number of sunspots daily, and those sunspots tend to be larger and have more complex magnetic configuration. According to the the sunspot magnetic classification traditionally used at Mt. Willson Observatory, sunspots of a delta-type or with a delta-configuration are characterized as having or including both positive and negative polarity umbrae within the same penumbra. These ARs are known to often produce large scale flares. On 11/8, NOAA reported that 3 active regions (NOAA 13883, 13886 and 13889) had a delta configuration. Three delta regions seen in one day is not an extremely rare thing, but it reminds us of that we are undoubtedly at the peak of the solar cycle 25. Keywords: AR Tracking, Solar Cycle Filters: Be_thin |
(Prepared by Aki Takeda)
The XRT instrument team is comprised of SAO, NASA, JAXA, and NAOJ.
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