The north-south asymmetry of sunspot areas during solar cycle 22

• DOI: 10.1007/bf00680451
• Publication Date: 2004-11-28T11:03:15Z
• Authors: R. Oliver; J. L. Ballester
• Keywords: Sunspot; Solar cycle 23; Solar cycle 22; Solar cycle 24; Solar minimum; Solar variation; Dominance (genetics); Solar maximum

We have analyzed the asymmetry of sunspot areas during the current solar cycle 22, finding that it has been statistically significant and that the shape of the underlying trend within the full asymmetry time series (1874–1993) indicates that the dominance of solar activity has started to shift, during the current cycle, from the northern hemisphere to the southern one.