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Each month a summary of sunspot activity is written and forms part of a report sent to the Solar Section of the British Astronomical Association (BAA) and to The Astronomer. Follow the links below to read a page summary of sunspot activity. The McIntosh Sunspot Group Classification is used for sunspot group descriptions.
The Ekc group seen at the end of December at 7°S/202° was still on the disk on the 3rd, but it had almost halved in size to 560 millionths. Now the leading spot had split into two and the size of the following penumbral spots had decreased in size and number. When this group was next seen on the 6th, all that remained was a smaller foreshortened leading penumbral spot and one following spot. By the 7th, the leading spot had decayed further and it was close to the western limb. On the 8th, there was a dominance of northern hemisphere groups but all were small in size; the largest being an Hax spot on the central meridian at 9°N/118° which had an area of 120 millionths. The group nearest to the eastern limb appeared as a small leading penumbral spot with other spots following over 20° of longitude. By the following day many more spots had appeared, most of which had small penumbra. The group was now classified as type Fsc at 12°N/59°. It had developed further when next seen on the 13th with many penumbral spots of different sizes spread throughout the length of the group. The maximum area of the group was on the 14th and 15th at 560 millionths when the leading spot developed to become the largest of the group. This continued to be the case as the group moved westward. On the 17th, all of the following penumbral spots had disappeared to leave a smaller leading spot and a few following spots. On the 18th, only a single penumbral spot was seen close to the limb. On the 14th, 15th and 17th no spot were seen in the southern hemisphere while on the 16th only an Axx spot at 5°S/311° was seen in this hemisphere. During this period, the total number of groups seen was low compared to the other observations made during the month; the lowest was 4 on the 17th. When the Sun was next seen on the 24th, activity had increased again with the greater number of groups now being in the southern hemisphere. The largest of these was close to the equator with a mean location of 3°S/233° and of type Dac and area 210 millionths. The biggest spot in this group was the following one which had a smaller penumbral spot just to the north of it. By the following day, these spots had merged to form a group type of Dkc. By the 27th the following spot had decayed slightly while in the middle of the group a penumbral spot had enlarged compared to the 25th while at the leading part of the group more smaller spots had appeared. On the 28th, a moderately sized spot had appeared at the leading position while the middle penumbral spot had also increased in size but the following one had decayed slightly; the total area was now 330 millionths. Also on the 28th, the only group in the eastern hemisphere was of type Csi at 10°N/188° which had a 7° latitude spread of following spots; the penumbral spot being nearer to the equator.
The first observation of the month on the 7th showed Fac and Dai groups in the northern hemisphere just eastward of the central meridian. The Fac group was at 12°N/75° with an area of 210 millionths while the Dai group at 9°N/62° had an area of 60 millionths. To the south of these groups an Axx spot was seen near the equator at 2°N/70°. Further to the east and in the southern hemisphere an Eao group was seen at 9°S/45°. Both the leading and following spots were asymmetric and roughly of the same size and the total area was 230 millionths. By the 9th, the leading spot of this latter group had increased in size slightly but the following spot had halved in size. When next seen on the 13th, just a single Hsx spot remained (this being the former leading spot). By the 13th and 14th, the number of groups seen reduced slightly with an almost equal distribution between the northern and southern hemispheres. Two of the groups seen were at reasonably high latitudes; on the 13th there was a Dso group at 27°S/29° and an Hsx spot at 28°N/337°. The Hsx spot was seen again on the 17th before becoming a single Axx spot on the 18th. Also on the 18th, half of the 8 groups seen were of type Axx while the largest was a Dsc group at 8°S/286° with an area of 90 millionths. When next seen on the 20th, more penumbral spots were present which increased the area to 200 millionths. By the 23rd, the group had formed into three close penumbral spots of approximately the same size; the total area was 290 millionths (and the largest group seen during the month). This group was seen again on the 24th and 25th as it moved nearer to the western limb. The number of groups seen on the 25th was the lowest of the month at 5.
The largest of the 8 groups seen on the 5th was an Eac group approaching the central meridian at 25°N/87° with an area of 170 millionths. This group was seen again on the 12th but as a single Hsx spot on the western limb. Also on the 12th, an Eac group was seen at 8°S/330° which comprised of a string of 4 penumbral spots with other spots between; the largest was the following spot and the total area of the group was 260 millionths. This group was next seen on the 14th - now there were penumbral spots at leading and following positions together with a large number of spot between these; some of these had small penumbra. The total area was estimated to be 120 millionths. The group had a similar appearance on the following day except that it was slightly longer to become type Fsc; it was now straddling the central meridian. When next seen on the 19th more penumbral spots had appeared while the total number of spots had reduced substantially. On the 15th and 19th, the number of groups seen had reduced to just 5. The Sun's appearance had changed dramatically when seen again on the 29th. There were many groups spread across the disk and in both the northern and southern hemispheres. The dominant group was of Fkc type just to the west of the central meridian at 16° N/155°. It had an area of 2300 millionths to become the largest group of the current solar cycle. It comprised of 4 main irregularly shaped penumbral spots over 20° of longitude and 12° of latitude. These were a few surrounding penumbral and other spots. On the 30th, the overall appearance was similar except that the following spot had reduced slightly to give a total group area of 2100 millionths. Also on the 29th a Dac group was seen some 20° following the large group at 22° N/137° with an area of 160 millionths (this was the second largest group on the 29th). The longitudinal extent of the group had increased by the 30th such that its leading spot was now close to the large group to give the impression of a string of spot stretching 40° in longitude.
The first observation of the month, on the 7th, showed a fairly even distribution of groups in the northern/southern and eastern/western hemispheres with a total of 7 groups being seen. The largest of these was an Ekc group at 21°S/359° with a total area of 800 millionths. It comprised of three irregular penumbral spots and a few surrounding spots. The largest penumbral spot was at the leading part of the group while the other two were close together at the following part of the group; all were irregularly shaped. The leading penumbral spot also had several umbra within it. By the 8th, one of the following penumbral spots had decayed, as had the leading penumbral spot. The appearance of this active group had changed again by the 9th with the introduction of other smaller penumbral spots; it was now near the central meridian. By the 11th, the group had begun to decay in size; now it had an area of 530 millionths. This reduction in area continued such that on the 13th, it was 270 millionths and it had become a Dki type group. The second largest group on the 7th was of type Dai at 26°N/348° with an area of 220 millionths. This group had a similar appearance on the 8th but by the following day the following penumbral spot had decayed to give an Cai group with a reduced area of 140 millionths. On the 11th and 13th, the following part of the group consisted of just a single small penumbral spot. During the period from the 7th to 13th the number of groups seen varied between 7 and 10. By the next observation, on the 17th, only 3 groups were seen and the largest of these was an Hsx group at 7°N/226° which had an area of just 70 millionths. On the 18th, the disk also looked rather barren although a Hhx spot could be seen on the north-eastern limb - this was the return of the large March sunspot group. More of this returning group could be seen on the 19th; now it was a Fkc group at 16°N/155° with the main spots being the leading and following penumbral spots. On the 20th, more penumbral spots could be seen to give a total area of 690 millionths. Note that in addition to this group, other smaller groups had developed on the disk since the 18th and 19th. On the 21st, an area of photosphere could be seen within the leading penumbral spot of the Fkc group while smaller spots were present between the leading and following spots. The appearance of this group changed substantially by the 22nd because of the splitting of the leading spot and the appearance of larger following penumbral spots. The longitudinal extent of the group was now almost 20°. Further development took place on the 23rd again with an increase in the number of small penumbral spots throughout the group. When next seen on the 26th, the group had just passed the central meridian and the following spot had increased in size compared to the 23rd; the total area was slightly higher at 700 millionths and the longitudinal extent had increased to almost 25°. When the group was last seen on the 28th, the number of penumbral spots had reduced by the total area was seen at its largest at 740 millionths.
The majority of the activity at the start of the month was in the northern hemisphere, with, for example, 5 northern and 3 southern groups on the 2nd. The largest area group, on the 2nd, at 290 millionths was a Fac type group at 25°N/26° which consisted of a string of many small penumbral and other spots spread over almost 20° of longitude. By the 3rd, some of the penumbral spots had merged but the total area remained similar. With the group traversing the central meridian on the 4th, the total number of spots and total area peaked at 34 and 350 millionths respectively. Subsequent daily observations showed the group decaying such that on the 8th only 4 spots were seen and the group was not seen on the 10th when it would be been near the western limb. Another moderately sized group from the early part of the month was initially seen as a Dao group at 13°N/62° on the 2nd. On the following day, it had developed into an Eac group with a total area of 120 millionths. On the 4th, the leading spot had increased in size further such that the group was now of type Ekc with an area of 300 millionths. This group appeared to have decayed by the 5th when it has a smaller leading spot and fewer spots within the group. The group was last seen on the 7th as just two spots when it was close to the western limb. Activity on the 8th and 10th had reduced to just 5 and 6 groups spread between the hemispheres and across the disk. On the 10th an Hsx spot was seen near the eastern limb; by the 11th several following penumbral spots had appeared around the limb. On the 12th, this Eac group, at 13°N/233° had an area of 390 millionths and by the 13th, the group appeared to decay slightly with fewer spots being seen. This decay continued such that when next seen on the 15th, the area had dropped to 250 millionths. On the 19th, the group had become type Cao. The largest group of the month was first seen on the 19th as a Dac group near the eastern limb. On the following day, the group had rotated further onto the disk and it was now of type Ekc at 7°N/129° with an area of 390 millionths. It comprised of an irregularly shaped leading penumbral spot, a smaller symmetrical following spot and a small number of other spots between the leader and follower. The number of spots within the group had increased during the next 2 days while on the 23rd, additional penumbral spots developed within the group including one just following the leading spot. When seen on the 24th, the leading spot had merged with the newly developed nearby penumbral spot - this spot contained several umbra and a small region of photosphere. There was also a collection of spots towards the following part of the group. The total area of the group was now 690 millionths and the group was near the central meridian. The leading spot had reduced in size by the 25th to become more symmetric while slightly fewer spots were seen within the group. The trend in the leading spot becoming more symmetric and the number of spots reducing continued as the group progressed towards the western limb. On the 28th just two small spots were seen following the leading spot while on the 29th just a Hsx spot was seen close to the western limb; the group was not seen on the 30th having passed around the limb. During the last few days of the month, activity had reduced again with 6 groups been seen on the 30th and 31st.
All of the 9 groups seen on the 1st were small in size. By the 2nd a Hhx spot had appeared around the eastern limb at 22°N/286°; on the following day it became apparent that this spot was asymmetrical in shape. When seen on the 4th its size peaked at 330 millionths and subsequent observations showed its size slowly reduce such that on the 8th, when near the central meridian, the group became type Hax at 150 millionths. The group was last seen on the 14th as an Axx spot near the western limb. Towards the middle of the month, the number of groups seen steadily increased, especially in the northern hemisphere. The highest number of groups seen was on the 15th with 16 and a R value of 225. On this date, there was a concentration of 4 groups in the north east. These were at 16°N/142°, type Esc; 9°N/138°, type Hkx; 22°N/129° type Dso and 19°N/122°, type Dac. The first of these groups contained many small penumbral spots spread throughout the group. When next seen on the 18th, the leading and following spots had developed into larger spots with the following spot being the larger. With the group near the central meridian on the 19th, many spots continued to be seen within the group. Development continued such that on the 20th and 21st, the group had a peak area of 480 millionths as the leading spot grew to become the largest spot in the group. As the group neared the western limb, the number of spots reduced quite substantially. The second NE group from the15th was an Hkx spot slightly to the south of the aforementioned group and larger than it on the 18th and 19th with an area of 520 millionths. This spot had several umbral spots and a few nearby spots. The shape of this group changed little over the next few days but on the 22nd, the northern part of the spot reduced in size while on the 23rd, the whole group had shrunk. When last seen on the 25th, the spot had reduced to become an inconspicuous Hsx spot near the western limb. The third of the NE groups comprised two nearby penumbral spots; by the 21st the northern most spot had decayed while the other spot decayed by the 22nd. The forth NE group was seen as a much larger Fsc group on the 18th with an area of 370 millionths. This group comprised one leading penumbral spot and small spot spread over more than 20° of longitude. As this group progressed across the disk the leading spot reduced in size while the number of spots within the group severely reduced - on the 26th just an Hsx spot remained. During the last week of the month the number of groups reduced to a similar level as at the start of the month; also all of these groups were fairly small. One of the most interesting was a very high latitude group seen on the 28th - this being a Bxo group at 44°S/344° which was seen as an Axx spot at 46°S/336° on the 30th. A nearby Dac spot at 46°S/328° was also seen on the 30th - are these groups from the new cycle?
The two high latitude groups seen at the end of June were still present on the 1st; an Axx spot at 44°S/342° and a Dsc group at 47°S/327°. The latter group was seen on each of the next 4 days - it was near the central meridian on the 3rd surrounded, unusually, by faculae and it was seen as an Axx spot on the 5th. The only other significant group from the start of the month was of type Hax, at 17°S/264°, which was first seen on the 1st near the eastern limb; its area was estimated to be 170 millionths on the 3rd. After this date, the spot reduced in size to become type Hsx with an area of just 30 millionths on the 8th. One of the F type groups from June reappeared around the eastern limb as an Hsx spot on the 12th. By the 14th, following spots had rotated onto the disk to make to group, at 17°N/117°, type Fsc with an area of 320 millionths. No spots were seen between the leading and following parts of the group and there was little change in its appearance as it rotated across the disk. When it reached the western limb, the following part of the group had decayed into a single spot when seen on the 23rd. Another group from the previous rotation was seen as an Hsx spot on the 15th near the eastern limb which was seen then as type Esc at 21°S/77° on the 16th. The group had many spots between the leader and the slightly larger follower spot. The composition of the group was similar when seen on the 20th, 21st and 23rd as it traversed the central meridian, although its area steadily increased from 200 to 310 millionth.
The largest spot on the 5th was an irregularly shaped Hkx spot at 18°S/283° with an area of 560 millionths. Many small umbrae were seen within the spot. By the 7th the group was nearing the western limb and the shape of the penumbra had changed significantly. An Eac group was seen traversing the central meridian on the 5th at 24°N/241° which had an area of 390 millionths; the main spot was the leader with a string of smaller penumbral followers. As this group approached the western limb, its longitudinal extent increased, its leading spot became symmetrical and there were fewer spots within the group such that on the 11th it was of type Fso. On the 10th, a Bxo group had appeared on the disk just to the south of the equator at 2°S/164° (the group was no seen on the previous day). By the 11th the group had rapidly developed into a Dac group with an area of 320 millionths. This growth rate did not continue as when next seen on 15th it was a small Esi group with an area of just 150 millionths. A single Hsx spot was seen on the south east limb on the 21st. By the following day more spots were seen in the following position. With this group, at 17°S/302°, further on the disk by the 24th, it could be seen that the following spot was the largest within the group and that it was of type Fkc with an area of 680 millionths. As the group approached the central meridian, its area remained similar, although the shape of the main following spot changed daily. Now past the central meridian on the 29th, the leading small penumbral spots had disappeared to leave a Cki group with a string of leading spots and a slightly smaller main penumbral spot. When seen on the 31st, the number of spots had reduced, as had its area (to 370 millionths). On the 24th, a high latitude Axx group consisting of two spot was seen at 38°N/337°. Another Hsx spot was seen on the eastern limb on the 27th. By the 28th other spots were seen following together with a second group slightly towards the south. On the 29th these groups, at 16°N/223° and 12°N/219° were of types Dsc and Dac while on the 31st they were classified as types Dai and Eac. On this date, both groups had an area of 240 millionths. As there were many small spots within each group and both covered similar longitudes, it became difficult to separate the two.
The two nearby groups at 17°N/221° and 12°N/219° seen at the end of August continued to be prominent at the start of the month. The appearance of the northern most of these groups changed little as the group progressed towards the central meridian, although the number of spots within the group did reduce. When it was on the meridian, on the 3rd, it was of type Dki with an area of 170 millionths. The southern group did change appearance; the main spot began to grow and more penumbral spots were seen. On the 3rd it was of type Ekc with an area of 260 millionths. On the next two days, the leading spot was seen to grow as did other spots within the group such that on the 6th, the total area was 640 millionths. This group was next seen on the 9th close to the western limb. On the 5th, an Hsx spot was seen near the eastern limb. By the next observation, on the 9th, it could be seen that this spot was part of a long Fkc group at 25°S/109°. This group was spread over more than 30° of longitude and it had an area of 1010 millionths. The largest spot was in the following half of the group while there were many other smaller penumbral spots spread throughout the group. When next seen on the 14th, most of the leading spots had reduced in size as had the main spot such that the total area was 640 millionths. This decay continued, as on the following day the area was 440 millionths. This group was last seen on the 17th. During the period this group was seen, southern hemisphere activity dominated in terms of both the number of group and their size. The 20th saw the return of a group last seen on the 3rd (it was of type Dac on the 1st with an area of 440 millionths). This group was now of type Fkc at 17°S/295° which had an elongated irregular spot with several umbra within it together with surrounding penumbral spots towards the leading part of the group. Also seen on the 20th was an Hkx spot at similar latitude but closer to the eastern limb (at 18°S/276°). On the 21st, the western most group has an area of 750 millionths with the main elongated spot being 15° in longitude; the main umbra within it was towards the following part of the spot. When this group was next seen on the 28th, the main spot had split leaving a much more symmetrical following spot and a collection of leading small penumbral spots. The eastern most group from the 20th was seen as two penumbral spots with the larger spot being towards the south on the 21st. On the 28th, just one penumbral spot was seen with a total area of 680 millionths; this spot was asymmetric with it being larger in latitude (7°) than in longitude (4°).
Observations on the 5th to 7th showed that the majority of the white light activity was in the southern hemisphere. None of the groups were particularly large: the largest was a Fac group at 21°N/79° which had an area of 360 millionths on the 7th. When the Sun was next seen on the 12th, the spread of groups was the same in the northern and southern hemispheres with the largest of the 10 groups seen being an Eko group located towards the eastern limb at 16°N/0° which had a area of 720 millionths. This group comprised mainly of a north-south elongated following penumbral spot and a smaller and more symmetrical leading spot. On the 13th, small spots were seen between the leader and follower while on the 17th, the following spot had spread out in longitude and more small spots were seen surrounding the following spot. This group was also on the central meridian. When next seen on the 22nd and 23rd, the group appeared as types Eac and Hsx respectively close to the north-western limb. On the 22nd three moderately sized groups were seen around the central meridian at approximately the same southern latitude. When seen on the 23rd, these were at 15°S/297° of type Dac with an area of 160 millionths, at 17°S/282° of type Dko with an area of 310 millionths and at 17°S/270° of type Hkx with an area of 430 millionths. The two eastern most groups contained quite irregular main spots, each with several umbrae within. These two groups were seen again on the 28th each with a reduced size and near to the western limb. A Dsc group with an area of 140 millionths at 8°N/225° was seen on the 23rd. By the 28th this group had increased in size to 680 millionths and it was now type Ehc as the leading spot had a symmetrical penumbral although two main umbrae were within it. The following part of the group, now just past the central meridian, consisted of a collection of smaller irregular penumbral spot. By the 30th, the size of this group had halved to 340 millionths due to a decrease in size of all the penumbral spots: it was now of type Ekc. The group also appeared smaller on the 31st. The largest group of the month was first seen on the 28th at 12°N/174° with an area of 970 millionths. It was classified as type Ekc; the largest spot was the leading one which occupied a region of approximately 7° in longitude and 5° in latitude. There were three main umbrae within this spot which encompassed a region of photosphere. Several much smaller penumbral spots were seen towards the following and northern part of the group. By the 30th, a part of the main spot had separated to form a new leading spot of the group. The largest spot, now towards the centre of the group, still had three main umbrae and the region of photosphere. The total area remained similar to the 28th at 980 millionths. On the 31st another part of the main spot had separated, this time towards the following part of the group. Several small spots were still seen within the group which was still classified as type Ekc, was just part the central meridian and it had an area of 1000 millionths. Another moderately sized group was seen at the latter part of the month. This group, near the eastern limb on the 28th at 6°N/139°, was of type Dkc. On the 30th its area was estimated to be 440 millionths but by the 31st the area had reduced to 330 millionths. Also by the end of the month, the number of groups seen had reduced such that on the 31st just 5 groups were seen - none were in the southern hemisphere.
The large Ekc group at 13°N/174° near the central meridian on the 31st October was seen progressing towards the western limb during the first 5 days of the month. On the 1st, the main spot towards the middle of the group had increased in size through the merger with following penumbral spots. This spot then merged with the leading penumbral spot on the 2nd to give the group an area of 1070 millionths. The observations on the 3rd to 5th showed the group reducing in size such that, on the 4th, its area was 760 millionths. The diagram below shows the development of this group from 28th October to 5th November.
The other moderately sized group from the end of October, at 7°N/140° remained of type Dkc up to the 5th. Its appearance changed each day while its area increased slightly to 490 millionths when last seen on the 5th. The southern hemisphere was seen spotless at the end of October; on the 1st a group at 18°S/79° has appeared around eastern limb. As this group rotated more on to the disk, it was seen as of type Fac between the 3rd and 5th. It consisted of a string of small penumbral spots with a maximum area of just 350 millionths on the 4th. The group was last seen on the 10th as type Fai with a reduced area of 80 millionths. The largest group of the month was first seen as a Dkc group near the eastern limb at 16°S/28° on the 5th. By the next observation on the 9th, it was a fine bipolar Fkc group with an area of 1240 millionths. There were irregular elongated penumbral spots at either end of the group and many small penumbral spots and other spots between. The group had a similar appearance on the 10th while by the 13th the number of groups between the main spot had reduced. On the 14th the size of the two main spots had reduced and by the 15th the area of the now Fac group was 500 millionths. The diagram below shows the development of this group from 5th to 15th November.
During the period 10th to 15th, an equatorial group was seen at 3°S/323°; at its largest it was seen as type Csi on the 13th with an area of 30 millionths. Also on the 13th, a high latitude Bxo group was seen at 32°S/356° . During the latter half of the month, only one observation was possible. This was on the 26th when only 7 groups were seen and the largest of these was a Dao group at 5°N/139° with an area of 380 millionths. The number of groups seen was similar to that at the start of the month but less than the 12 seen on the 10th when the sunspot number was 200.
Activity at the start of the month was particularly high with over 14 groups seen on the 1st when the sunspot number was estimated to be 220. The largest group seen on this date was just past the central meridian at 5°N/138° which was of type Ekc with an area of 680 millionths. The main leading spot had a thin region of penumbra extending towards the following part of the group. There were also several small spots surrounding the group. When the group was last seen on the 4th, the total area had reduced to 510 millionths due mainly to the decay of the central penumbral region. Another Ekc group was seen on the 1st at 6°S/87° with an area of 410 millionths; this comprised of three irregularly shaped penumbral spots at the leading, middle and following parts of the group together with a few smaller spots. On the 4th, this group had just passed the central meridian and its area had increased to 630 millionths due to an increase in the number of penumbral spots throughout the group. When seen on the 6th, the total area had increased further to 790 millionths as the leading and middle penumbral spots had increased in size. By the following day, the 7th, the middle penumbral spot had rapidly decayed while the leading spot had reduced as well; the group was now of type Dkc with an area of 510 millionths. On the 4th a high latitude Bxo group was seen at 37°N/82° . By the 6th it had developed into a Dsi group with an area of 80 millionths and then into an Eao group by the 7th with a slightly larger area of 90 millionths. This group was not seen on the 10th. Although the number of groups had reduced by the 10th, there was another moderately sized group on the disk. This was at 20°S/21° and it was of type Dki with an area of 500 millionths. This group was first seen near the eastern limb on the 4th as a Cko group and then as a Dac group on the 6th with an area of 400 millionths before the following penumbral spots had disappeared on the 7th to leave a Hax spot with an area of 390 millionths. Two subsequent observations after the 10th showed a slightly extended group on the 11th (now type Ekc) with a slightly larger area due to a larger leading spot. On the 14th, the group was of type Eko near the western limb. An Eac group was seen at 14°N/315° on the 10th, 11th and 14th; this group had no obvious bipolar structure as there were many penumbral spots throughout the group, especially towards the following part of the group where several spots were spread out in latitude. When seen on the 14th, with the group just past the central meridian, there were, in addition, many small spots. The maximum area was 390 millionths on the 10th. Another group consisting of several penumbral spots and many small spots was first seen on the 20th. This group was at 12°N/213° and it was classified as type Eac. By the 22nd three main penumbral spots were seen within a region of 10° by 10° - the total area had doubled from the 20th to 680 millionths and there were still many smaller spots within the group. On the 23rd, additional small penumbral spots had appeared to make the group type Fkc with an area of 890 millionths; the two largest spots were at the same longitude at the leading part of the group separated by 5° in latitude. When next seen on the 26th, the group had changed substantially with there being one large main leading spot and one small following penumbral spot together with a few other spots. The leading spot appears to have formed by the merger of the two leading spots seen on the 23rd; the spot covered 8° in both latitude and longitude but because of foreshortening, as the group was now nearing the western limb, this spot appeared to be elongated in latitude. On the 31st, the number of group seen was almost the same as at the start of the month with 13 group. None of these were, however particularly large (the largest being an Eac group at 5°N/144° with an area of 270 millionths).
Last updated on 08 February 2004. |
