Finding a number to measure Solar activity (Wolf number)

The Sun may seem like a static object, resting in the center of the Solar System while the planets orbit around it. But this is not the case. Our star is constantly undergoing processes of change that release large amounts of energy. In fact, the stability of its appearance and luminosity is due to a balance of forces that are in constant conflict. The processes that occur on the surface and in the atmosphere of the Sun, which produce solar wind, flares, and coronal mass ejections, are sometimes…