AUTHOR=McIntosh Scott W. , Leamon Robert J. 

TITLE=Deciphering solar magnetic activity: some (unpopular) thoughts on the coupling of the Sun’s “weather” and “climate”

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2024

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/astronomy-and-space-sciences/articles/10.3389/fspas.2024.1440708

DOI=10.3389/fspas.2024.1440708

ISSN=2296-987X

ABSTRACT=The Sun exhibits episodic surges of magnetic activity across a range of temporal and spatial scales, the most prominent of which is the 11-th year modulation of sunspot production. Beside the ∼170 (min to max) decadal variation in sunspot production there is a less-explored quasi-annual variation in the range of 25–50 sunspots/year in magnitude. In addition, there is there is a slower, ∼80 year period, 10–50 variation in the sunspot number, that is commonly referred to as the “Gleissberg Cycle.” Using a suite of contemporary and historical observations we will illustrate these elements of our star’s episodic behavior and present a hypothesis that may provide a consistent physical link between the observed “climatic,” “decadal,” and “seasonal” magnetic variation of our star.