Empirical Evidence of Planetary Group Configurations Modulating Solar Activity

Abstract

Our prior research found that a $90^{\circ}$ configuration of two planetary groups were temporally associated with significant changes in global electromagnetic standing waves (Schumann resonances) during and after the three $90^{\circ}$ configuration events occurring in late 2017 and early 2018. Specifically noted were reductions in variability moving into an event and level changes immediately after a event. Because global standing-wave data have a short history and no $90^{\circ}$ events have occurred since that period, we examine here whether these geometric configuration events correspond to similar signatures in the long sunspot count record. Using daily sunspot data from January 1935 through December 2024, we conducted empirical studies assessing variance changes, post-event level shifts, and potential intrinsic oscillatory structure. In Study A, a variance-ratio test showed that sunspot variability was systematically lower during the events than in the preceding period, with 21 of 26 events since 1935 exhibiting reduced variance (binomial $p=0.0025$). In Study B, solar activity level declined roughly 21 days after events ended, with 21 of 26 events showing negative changes (binomial $p=0.0025$). In Study C, wavelet and filtering analyses revealed no internal solar oscillations at comparable timescales. These findings provide empirical evidence that the configuration events are associated with shifts in solar activity. The next three configuration events in mid- and late-2026 offer an opportunity to assess these patterns in real time.

Figures (9)

• Figure 1: Co-occurrence of solar, and planetary phenomena (2015-2019). The orange line shows the solar activity metric (the normalized daily total sunspot number). Blue bars indicate periods where the angular separation between the inner and outer planetary orbital centers was between $86^{\circ}$ and $94^{\circ}$, as calculated from NASA JPL Horizons ephemeris data. Data sources: Sunspot Number (SILSO data/image, Royal Observatory of Belgium); Planetary Ephemerides (NASA JPL Horizons).
• Figure 2: Long-term context of $90^{\circ}$ configuration clusters and solar activity 1935-2025. Vertical blue bands indicate periods where the angular separation between the inner and outer planetary orbital centers was between $86^{\circ}$ and $94^{\circ}$, as calculated from NASA JPL Horizons ephemeris data. Data sources: Sunspot Number (SILSO data/image, Royal Observatory of Belgium); Planetary Ephemerides (NASA JPL Horizons).
• Figure 3: Probability distribution of the pre-variance ratios across the entire dataset. Samples drawn from the dataset explicitly exclude the known $90^{\circ}$ event windows to prevent contamination of the distribution with the known signals.
• Figure 4: Probability distribution of the mean of 26 randomly sampled pre-variance ratios across the entire dataset. Samples drawn from the dataset explicitly exclude the known $90^{\circ}$ event windows to prevent contamination of the distribution with the known signals.
• Figure 5: Statistics of the post-event solar activity delta versus lookforward horizon (window size). Bottom plot shows the associated p-value from the number of events with a negative difference (less activity) over the lookforward horizon.