 What is the role of sunspots in this phenomenon?
This, be it understood, is fiction—nothing but fiction—and not, under any circumstances, to be considered as having any truth whatever to it. An interview with Dr. I. M. Niemand, Director of the Psychophysical Institute of Solar and Terrestrial Relations, Camarillo, California. In the closing days of December, 1957, at the meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in New York, Dr. Niemand delivered a paper entitled simply, "On the Nature of the Solar S-Regions." These implications are discussed here in an exclusive interview with Dr. Niemand by Philip Latham. I suppose you might say my main job today is to find out all I can between activity on the Sun and various forms of activity on the Earth. What do you mean by activity on the Sun? NIEMAND. Well, a sunspot is a form of solar activity. Just what is a sunspot? I'm afraid I can't say just what a sunspot is. A sunspot is a region on the Sun that is cooler than its surroundings. Isn't it true that the number of spots on the Sun rises and falls in a cycle of eleven years? The number of spots on the Sun rises and falls in a cycle of about eleven years. It means you can only approximately predict the future course of sunspot activity. Sunspots are mighty treacherous things. Haven't there been a great many correlations announced between sunspots and various effects on the Earth? There is unquestionably a correlation between sunspots and disturbances of the Earth's magnetic field ... radio fade-outs ... auroras ... Now, Dr. Niemand, I understand that you have been investigating solar and terrestrial relationships along rather unorthodox lines. I think our biggest advance was the discovery that sunspots themselves are not the direct cause of the disturbances we have been studying on the Earth. It's something like the eruptions in rubeola. Whereas the real cause is an invisible filterable virus. In the solar case it turned out to be these S-Regions. It is quite invisible to the eye but readily detected by suitable instrumental methods. It is extremely doubtful, however, if the radiation we detect is the actual cause of the disturbing effects observed. In the Sun? NIEMAND. There are occasional periods when conditions are fairly calm and peaceful. They are impelled by forces over which they have no control. Such a syndrome is characteristic of menopausal women and some men during the climacteric, but these people failed to fit into this picture. They have found savages displaying every symptom of a nervous breakdown among the mountain tribes of the Elgonyi and the Aruntas of Australia.
 Sunspots are what we are able to see, but serve only as an approximation of S-Regions, the true cause
 Sunspots are what we are able to see, but serve only as an approximation of S-Regions, the true cause  Sunspots were the key for Henry Middletown's breakthrough in the study  Sunspots were what inspired Dr. Niemand to do research on the Sun in the first place  Sunspots are the underlying cause of the issue, which are trackable by S-regions