The Classification of Sunspot Groups

The 3-component McIntosh classification of sunspots was introduced in 1966, adopted for interchange and publication of data in 1969, and has been used increasingly in recent years. The McIntosh classification uses a modified Zurich evolutionary sequence as its first component, class, where two of the Zurich classes are omitted and more quantitative definitions are used. It then adds descriptions of the largest spot (second component) and the degree of spottedness in the group interior (third component) to define 60 distinct types of sunspot groups. Definitions of the McIntosh classification system and their rationale are presented herein. Correlations with solar flares excel those with the earlier Zurich classification, prompting the use of the McIntosh classification in an expert system (Theo) for predicting X-ray solar flares.