Sunspots are the areas with the strongest magnetic fields and, therefore, a good indicator of solar activity. They give indications of the possibility of solar eruptions that may precede geomagnetic storms on the Earth. Recently, a new and unusual sunspot found to have emerged in the sun’s southern hemisphere.
The sunspot- AR3027- is a reversed-polarity sunspot; its magnetic field is backward. Reversed polarity sunspots act normal. They are the same size as normal sunspots and have the same lifespan.
Hale’s Law suggested that Solar Cycle 25 sunspots in the sun’s southern hemisphere should have a +/- polarity. However, the magnetogram of this newly emerged sunspot shows the opposite, i.e., it shows -/+. Sunspot AR3027 is breaking the Law!
In 1982, the Big Solar Observatory survey suggested that reversed polarity sunspots are more than twice as likely to develop complex magnetic fields in which + and – are mixed. Hence, they are more likely to explode.
As noted in Spaceweather.com, “AR3027 could become a source of flares in the days ahead.”