Hemispheric Sunspot Numbers Research Articles

An Improved Prediction of Solar Cycles 25 and 26 Using the Informer Model: Gnevyshev Peaks and North–South Asymmetry

Forecasting the amplitude and timing of the sunspot cycle is highly important for solar physics and space weather applications, but high-precision prediction of solar magnetic activity has remained an outstanding challenge. The Informer model, as the most advanced deep learning technique, is an ideal approach for predicting solar activity cycle. Using the whole-disk sunspot numbers (SSNs) between 1749 and 2023 and the hemispheric SSNs between 1992 and 2023, the amplitudes and timings of Solar Cycles 25 and 26 are predicted by the Informer model. The main results are the following: (1) the activity levels of Solar Cycles 25 and 26 continue being weak-moderate cycles with their strengths stronger than Solar Cycle 24, implying that the long-term solar variability is significantly modulated in length and magnitude by the Gleissberg century cycle; (2) the Gnevyshev peaks of Solar Cycles 25 and 26 are clearly observed with a higher value in the second peak, suggesting that the numbers of the large sunspot groups are greater compared to the small sunspot groups in these two cycles; and (3) during Solar Cycle 25, the activity level in the southern hemisphere is predicted to be stronger than that in the northern one, revealing significant asymmetry and asynchronization between the two hemispheres. Our analysis results show that solar cycle predictions can be made more accurate if performed separately for each hemisphere. Furthermore, Solar Cycles 25 and 26 are likely to be weak-moderate cycles, in agreement with the precursor-based and model-based prediction methods.

Katsue Misawa's sunspot observations in 1921–1934: a primary reference for the Wolfer-Brunner transition

Abstract Our knowledge of the long-term solar variability is largely based on the International Sunspot Number time series (SN), a composite index based on multiple visual sunspot observers from the 18th century onward and maintained by the World Data Center ‘Sunspot Index and Long-term Solar Observations’ (SILSO). However, over the period 1919–1944, our capacity to diagnose the homogeneity of this time series is currently limited because most of the archived source data of the Zürich Observatory are presently missing over that interval and were not published. Therefore, the recovery of any long-duration series from an individual sunspot observer active during this period is essential to bridge this Zürich data gap. In this context, Katsue Misawa has conducted regular sunspot observations from 1921 to 1934 (mean coverage of 25.4 days/month), which were not accessible for the Zürich Observatory and thus form a valuable addition to the database maintained by the WDC-SILSO. In this study, we digitized his observational records, documented his observing technique, and reconstructed his total and hemispheric sunspot numbers. We compared his data with the International Sunspot Number (current version V2) and evaluated their stability. Misawa's data series generally agrees well with SN V2. However, Misawa's data show a significant transitory drift in 1925–1928, when the Zürich pilot observer changed from Alfred Wolfer to William Otto Brunner.

Hale cycle in solar hemispheric radio flux and sunspots: Evidence for a northward-shifted relic field

Context. Solar and heliospheric parameters occasionally depict notable differences between the northern and southern solar hemisphere. Although the hemispheric asymmetries of some heliospheric parameters vary systematically with the Hale cycle, this has not been found to be commonly valid for solar parameters. Also, no verified physical mechanism exists that can explain possible systematic hemispheric asymmetries. Aims. We use a novel method of high heliolatitudinal vantage points to increase the fraction of one hemisphere in solar 10.7 cm radio fluxes and sunspot numbers. We aim to explore the possibility that solar radio fluxes and sunspot numbers, the two most fundamental solar parameters, depict systematic, possibly mutually similar patterns in their hemispheric activities during the last 75 yr. Methods. We used three different sets of time intervals with increasing mean heliographic latitude and calculated corresponding hemispheric high-latitude radio fluxes and sunspot numbers. We also normalized these fluxes by yearly means in order to study the variation of fluxes in the two hemispheres over the whole 75 yr time interval. Results. We find that cycle-maximum radio fluxes and sunspot numbers in each odd solar cycle (19, 21, 23) are larger at northern high latitudes than at southern high latitudes, while maximum fluxes and numbers in all even cycles (18, 20, 22 24) are larger at southern high latitudes than at northern high latitudes. This alternation indicates a new form of systematic, Hale-cycle-related variation in solar activity. Hemispheric differences at cycle maxima are 15% for radio flux and 23% for sunspot numbers, on average. The difference is largest during cycle 19 and smallest in cycle 24. Normalized radio fluxes depict a dominant Hale-cycle variation in both hemispheres, with an opposite phase and overall amplitude of about 5% in the north and 4% in the south. Thus, there is systematic Hale-cycle alternation in magnetic flux emergence in both hemispheres. Conclusions. The hemispheric Hale cycle in flux emergence can be explained if there is a northward-directed relic magnetic field, which is slightly shifted northward. In that case, in odd cycles, the northern hemisphere is enhanced more than the southern hemisphere, and in even cycles, the northern hemisphere is reduced more than the southern hemisphere, establishing the observed hemispheric alternation. The temporal change of asymmetry during the seven cycles can be explained if the relic shift oscillates at the 210 yr Suess/deVries period, which also provides a physical cause to this periodicity. Gleissberg cycles are explained as off-equator excursions of the relic, each Gleissberg cycle forming one half of the full relic shift oscillation cycle. Having a relic field in the Sun also offers interesting possibilities for century-scale forecasting of solar activity.

Hemispheric Sunspot Numbers from the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Valencia (1940 – 1956)

In this work, we present hemispheric sunspot number counts made in the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Valencia for the period 1940 – 1956. We found these data in a secondary source (the bulletins of the Madrid Astronomical Observatory). We digitized the hemispheric sunspot number and group number recorded by the observers. Unfortunately, the sunspot positions or areas were not published in this secondary source. A machine-readable version of the dataset is available as supplementary material. We compare the Valencia hemispheric series with others from other observatories, such as the Madrid Astronomical Observatory, finding similar hemispheric behaviors. We also computed the asymmetry index from the hemispheric data. We found that the northern hemisphere was predominant in our study period (declining phase of Solar Cycle 17, Solar Cycle 18, and rising phase of Solar Cycle 19), and the southern hemisphere was leading. These results agree with those obtained in previous studies. Therefore, the Valencia hemispheric records are one more piece of information to know the behavior of the northern and southern hemispheres during the 20th century.

The State of the White-Light Corona over the Minimum and Ascending Phases of Solar Cycle 25 – Comparison with Past Cycles

We report on the state of the corona over the minimum and ascending phases of Solar Cycle (SC) 25 on the basis of the temporal evolutions of its radiance and of the properties of coronal mass ejections (CMEs), as determined from white-light observations performed by the SOHO/LASCO-C2 coronagraph. These evolutions are further compared with those determined during the past two Solar Cycles using the same methods. The integrated radiance of the K-corona and the occurrence rate of CMEs closely track the indices/proxies of solar activity, prominently the total magnetic field for the radiance and the 10.7 cm radio flux for the CMEs, all undergoing a steep increase during the ascending phase of SC 25. This increase is much steeper than anticipated on the basis of the predicted quasi-similarity between SC 25 and SC 24, and is confirmed by the recent evolution of the sunspot number. The radiance reached the same base level during the minima of SC 24 and SC 25, but the latitudinal extent of the streamer belt differed, being flatter during the latter minimum and in fact more similar to that of the minimum of SC 23. Synchronizing the descending branches of SC 23 and SC 24 led to a duration of SC 24 of 11.0 years, similar to that given by the sunspot number. In contrast, the base level of the occurrence rate of CMEs during the minimum of SC 25 was significantly larger than during the two previous minima. The southern hemisphere is conspicuously more active than the northern, in agreement with several predictions and the current evolution of the hemispheric sunspot numbers. In particular, the occurrence rate of the subset of CMEs with known mass, their mass rate, and the number of CMEs with speeds larger than 350 km s−1 in the southern hemisphere exceeds by far the respective values in the northern hemisphere. The mean apparent width of CMEs and the number of halo CMEs remains at relatively large, constant levels throughout the early phase of SC 25, implying the persistence of weak total pressure in the heliosphere. These results, and particularly the perspective of a corona being more active than anticipated, are extremely promising for the forthcoming observations by both Solar Orbiter and Parker Solar Probe.

Maximal growth rate of the ascending phase of a sunspot cycle for predicting its amplitude

Context. Forecasting the solar cycle amplitude is important for a better understanding of the solar dynamo as well as for many space weather applications. Different empirical relations of solar cycle parameters with the peak amplitude of the upcoming solar cycle have been established and used for solar cycle forecasts, as, for instance, the Waldmeier rule relating the cycle rise time with its amplitude, the polar fields at previous minimum, and so on. Recently, a separate consideration of the evolution of the two hemispheres revealed even tighter relations. Aims. We aim to introduce the maximal growth rate of sunspot activity in the ascending phase of a cycle as a new and reliable precursor of a subsequent solar cycle amplitude. We also intend to investigate whether the suggested precursor provides benefits for the prediction of the solar cycle amplitude when using the sunspot indices (sunspot numbers, sunspot areas) derived separately for the two hemispheres compared to the total sunspot indices describing the entire solar disc. Methods. We investigated the relationship between the maximal growth rate of sunspot activity in the ascending phase of a cycle and the subsequent cycle amplitude on the basis of four data sets of solar activity indices: total sunspot numbers, hemispheric sunspot numbers from the new catalogue from 1874 onwards, total sunspot areas, and hemispheric sunspot areas. Results. For all the data sets, a linear regression based on the maximal growth rate precursor shows a significant correlation. Validation of predictions for cycles 1–24 shows high correlations between the true and predicted cycle amplitudes reaching r = 0.93 for the total sunspot numbers. The lead time of the predictions varies from 2 to 49 months, with a mean value of 21 months. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the sum of maximal growth rate indicators determined separately for the north and the south hemispheric sunspot numbers provides more accurate predictions than that using total sunspot numbers. The advantages reach 27% and 11% on average in terms of rms and correlation coefficient, respectively. The superior performance is also confirmed with hemispheric sunspot areas with respect to total sunspot areas. Conclusions. The maximal growth rate of sunspot activity in the ascending phase of a solar cycle serves as a reliable precursor of the subsequent cycle amplitude. Furthermore, our findings provide a strong foundation for supporting regular monitoring, recording, and predictions of solar activity with hemispheric sunspot data, which capture the asymmetric behaviour of the solar activity and solar magnetic field and enhance solar cycle prediction methods.

Hemispheric sunspot numbers 1874–2020

Context. Previous studies show significant north–south asymmetries for various features and indicators of solar activity. These findings suggest some decoupling between the two hemispheres over the solar cycle evolution, which is in agreement with dynamo theories. For the most important solar activity index, the sunspot numbers, so far only limited data are available for the two hemispheres independently. Aims. The aim of this study is to create a continuous series of daily and monthly hemispheric sunspot numbers (HSNs) from 1874 to 2020, which will be continuously expanded in the future with the HSNs provided by SILSO. Methods. Based on the available daily measurements of hemispheric sunspot areas from 1874 to 2016 from Greenwich Royal Observatory and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, we derive the relative fractions of the northern and southern activity. These fractions are applied to the international sunspot number (ISN) to derive the HSNs. This method and obtained data are validated against published HSNs for the period 1945–2004 and those provided by SILSO for 1992 to 2016. Results. We provide a continuous data series and catalogue of daily, monthly mean, and 13-month smoothed monthly mean HSNs for the time range 1874–2020 –fully covering solar cycles 12 to 24– that are consistent with the newly calibrated ISN (Clette et al., 2014). Validation of the reconstructed HSNs against the direct data available since 1945 reveals a high level of consistency, with Pearson correlation coefficients of r = 0.94 (0.97) for the daily (monthly mean) data. The cumulative hemispheric asymmetries for cycles 12–24 give a mean value of 16%, with no obvious pattern in north–south predominance over the cycle evolution. The strongest asymmetry occurs for cycle no. 19, in which the northern hemisphere shows a cumulated predominance of 42%. The phase shift between the peaks of solar activity in the two hemispheres may be up to 28 months, with a mean absolute value over cycles 12–24 of 16.8 months. The phase shifts reveal an overall asymmetry of the northern hemisphere reaching its cycle maximum earlier (in 10 out of 13 cases), with a mean signed phase shift of −7.6 months. Relating the ISN and HSN peak growth rates during the cycle rise phase with the cycle amplitude reveals higher correlations when considering the two hemispheres individually, with r ≈ 0.9. Conclusions. Our findings provide further evidence that to some degree the solar cycle evolves independently in the two hemispheres, and demonstrate that empirical solar cycle prediction methods can be improved by investigating the solar cycle dynamics in terms of the HSN evolution.

North-South asymmetry of some solar parameters: A study based on the dominance of hemispheric sunspot activity during the solar cycles 18–24

Solar activity indices differ over the solar disk, and different activity parameters are not considered to be symmetric between the northern and southern solar hemispheres. In the present paper, the daily data of a set of solar parameters (solar radio flux F10.7, total solar irradiance TSI, plage area PA, coronal index CI, solar flare index SFI, and solar mean magnetic field ǀBǀ) as well as the daily hemispheric sunspot areas (SSAs) and sunspot numbers (SSNs) during a timeframe 1945–2017 (covering almost the last seven solar cycles, 18 ̶ 24) have been employed to investigate the north-south (N-S) asymmetry of the considered solar parameters based on the dominance of hemispheric distributions of SSAs and SSNs. The N-S asymmetry for each solar parameter has been investigated and the results revealed that it is a significant aspect through different years in the entire period. The grand average of each solar parameter for the northern and southern groups over each solar activity cycle has been calculated to investigate the statistical significance of N-S asymmetry of each solar parameter in each solar activity cycle. The solar cycles 19 and 24 displayed the dominance of the southern F10.7 and PA over the northern one. However, the solar cycle 23 showed the reverse. The grand average of CI displayed the southern preference in the solar cycle 19 while, the northern dominance of CI is revealed for the solar cycle 23. The grand averages of CI demonstrated nearly symmetric distribution in solar cycles 18, and 20–22. The N-S asymmetry of the grand averages of SFI exhibited a southern dominance during solar cycles 21 and 24. On the other hand, the northern preference is observed for the grand average of SFI through the solar cycle 23. The asymmetry of the grand averages of ǀBǀ obviously has the same dominance (sign) of hemispheric sunspot activity indices for the solar cycles 21–24. The periodic behavior of the N-S asymmetry of SSAs, SSNs, F10.7, and ǀBǀ has been investigated using Fast Fourier Transformation. Many mid- and long term periodicities have been detected. We present our results and discuss their possible explanations.

Sunspot drawings at Kodaikanal Observatory: a representative results on hemispheric sunspot numbers and area measurements

The importance of the periodicity in sunspot appearance was well recognized by the mid-19th century. Several observatories around the globe have made the record of sunspots in the form of drawings and preserved them safely for posterity. At the Kodaikanal Observatory (KO), the sunspot observations have begun in 1905. In those times observations were recorded on photographic plates and after the development of those plates in the laboratory, the drawings of the same were made on the Stonyhurst grids. In these drawings, called sun charts, different features on the sun’s disk, e.g., sunspots, plages, filaments, prominences, etc. were clearly identified and visually marked with different colors. We have collected 111 years of sunspot drawing spanning over 10 solar cycles. These sunspot drawings were carefully stitched to make bound volumes, each for every 6-months. The drawings are kept at the Kodaikanal library for scientific use and analysis. In this article, we describe briefly the process of drawing, methods of counting sunspot numbers and measurement of sunspot area using square grids. We have collected the data for the northern and southern hemispheres separately. From the collected data, we compute the sunspot number and area and compare it with Royal Greenwich Observatory (RGO) and Sunspot Index and Long-term Solar Observations (SILSO) data. The results show that the measurement of the sunspot number is underestimated by about 40%. The KO monthly averaged sunspot number data of both hemispheres is normalized with the RGO monthly averaged total sunspot number data. This procedure provided a good correlated data set that can be used for further scientific work in the future. The sunspot area data from KO is slightly underestimated in the first 5-cycles and seems mildly overestimated in the later 5-cycles. These data sets are valuable additions to the existing data of sunspot records.

North/South Hemispheric Periodicities in the ${>}\,25\mbox{ MeV}$ Solar Proton Event Rate During the Rising and Peak Phases of Solar Cycle 24

We present evidence that $>25$ MeV solar proton events show a clustering in time at intervals of $\approx$ six months that persisted during the rising and peak phases of Solar Cycle 24. This phenomenon is most clearly demonstrated by considering events originating in the northern or southern solar hemispheres separately. We examine how these variations in the solar energetic particle (SEP) event rate are related to other phenomena, such as hemispheric sunspot numbers and areas, rates of coronal mass ejections, and the mean solar magnetic field. Most obviously, the SEP event rate closely follows the sunspot number and area in the same hemisphere. The $\approx$ six-month variations are associated with features in many of the other parameters we examine, indicating that they are just one signature of the episodic development of Cycle 24. They may be related to the "$\approx$150~day" periodicities reported in various solar and interplanetary phenomena during previous solar cycles. The clear presence of $\approx$six-month periodicities in Cycle 24 that evolve independently in each hemisphere conflicts with a scenario suggested by McIntosh et al. (2015, Nature Com. 6, 6491) for the variational time scales of solar magnetism.

North–south excess of hemispheric sunspot numbers and cosmic ray asymmetric solar modulation

Timeline of solar activity is reviewed for 1945–2013 with data for yearly north–south excess (NSE) of hemispheric sunspot numbers (SSNs) for six cycles (18–23) and rising phase of cycle 24. There are more sunspots in north hemisphere for 1950–1970 (cycles 18–20) and excess in south hemisphere for 1980–2010 (cycles 21–23). To the best of our knowledge, the physical cause(es) for NSE and change of its sign are not known, highlighting the fact that we do not yet understand how the solar Dynamo works. Others have analyzed NSE data for shorter periods. We study the relationship between NSE and galactic cosmic ray (GCR) asymmetric solar modulation for the space age with high latitude neutron monitor data located in USA and Europe; space age began in October 1963 with in situ measurements of the solar wind parameters at 1AU. We infer an asymmetric GCR particle density gradient normal to the ecliptic plane exists for 1963–2013 and undergoes significant temporal variations unrelated to Schwabe or Hale cycle. Furthermore, it has no physical relationship with NSE for the period of our analysis, contrary to the result of a prior study for a shorter period.

HEMISPHERIC SUNSPOT UNIT AREA: COMPARISON WITH HEMISPHERIC SUNSPOT NUMBER AND SUNSPOT AREA

The monthly mean northern and southern hemispheric sunspot numbers (SNs) and sunspot areas (SAs) in the time interval of 1945 January to 2012 December are utilized to construct the monthly northern and southern hemispheric sunspot unit areas (SUAs), which are defined as the ratio of hemispheric SA to SN. Hemispheric SUAs are usually found to rise at the beginning and to fall at the ending time of a solar cycle more rapidly, forming a more irregular cycle profile than hemispheric SNs and SAs, although it also presents Schwabe-cycle-like hemispheric SNs and SAs. Sunspot activity (SN, SA, and SUA) is found asynchronously and is asymmetrically distributed in the northern and southern hemispheres, and hemispheric SNs, SAs, and SUAs are not in phase in the two hemispheres. The similarity of hemispheric SNs and SAs is found to be much more obvious than that of hemispheric SUAs and SNs (or SAs), and also for their north-south asymmetry. A notable feature is found for the behavior of the SUA around the minimum time of cycle 24: the SUA rapidly decreases from the cycle maximum value to the cycle minimum value of sunspot cycles 19-24 within just 22 months.

Temporal variation of hemispheric solar rotation

The daily sunspot numbers of the whole disk as well as the northern and southern hemispheres from 1945 January 1 to 2010 December 31 are used to investigate the temporal variation of rotational cycle length through the continuous wavelet transformation analysis method. Auto-correlation function analysis of daily hemispheric sunspot numbers shows that the southern hemisphere rotates faster than the northern hemisphere. The results obtained from the wavelet transformation analysis are that no direct relationship exists between the variation trend of the rotational cycle length and the solar activity in the two hemispheres and that the rotational cycle length of both hemispheres has no significant period appearing at 11yr, but has a significant period of about 7.6 yr. Analysis concerning the solar cycle dependence of the rotational cycle length shows that acceleration seems to appear before the minimum time of solar activity in the whole disk and the northern hemisphere, respectively. Furthermore, the cross-correlation study indicates that the rotational cycle length of the two hemispheres has different phases, and that the rotational cycle length of the whole disk as well as the northern and southern hemispheres, also has phase shifts with corresponding solar activity. In addition, the temporal variation of the north-south (N-S) asymmetry of the rotational cycle length is also studied. This displays the same variation trend as the N-S asymmetry of solar activity in a solar cycle, as well as in the considered time interval, and has two significant periods of 7.7 and 17.5 yr. Moreover, the rotational cycle length and the N-S asymmetry of solar activity are highly correlated. It is inferred that the northern hemisphere should rotate faster at the beginning of solar cycle 24.

Manifestations of the North – South Asymmetry in the Photosphere and in the Green Line Corona

The north - south asymmetries (NSA) of three solar activity indices are derived and mutually compared over a period of more than five solar cycles (1945 - 2001). A cata- logue of the hemispheric sunspot numbers, the data set of the coronal green line brightness developed by us, and the magnetic flux derived from the NSO/KP data (1975 - 2001) are treated separately within the discrete low- and mid-latitude zones (5° - 30°, 35° - 60°). The calculated autocorrelations, cross-correlations, and regressions between the long-term NSA data sets reveal regularities in the solar activity phenomenon. Namely, the appearance of a distinct quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) is evident in all selected activity indices. Nev- ertheless, a smooth behavior of QBO is derived only when sufficient temporal averaging is performed over solar cycles. The variation in the significance and periodicity of QBO allows us to conclude that the QBO is not persistent over the whole solar cycle. A similarity in the photospheric and coronal manifestations of the NSA implies that their mutual relation will also show the QBO. A roughly two-year periodicity is actually obtained, but again only after significant averaging over solar cycles. The derived cross-correlations are in fact variable in degree of correlation as well as in changing periodicity. A clear and significant temporal shift of 1 - 2 months in the coronal manifestation of the magnetic flux asymmetry relative to the photospheric manifestation is revealed as a main property of their mutual correlation. This shift can be explained by the delayed large-scale coronal manifestation in responding to the emergence of the magnetic flux in the photosphere. The reliability of the derived results was confirmed by numerical tests performed by selecting different numerical values of the used parameters.

Hemispheric sunspot numbers ${R_{n}}$ and ${R_{s}}$ from 1945–2004: catalogue and N-S asymmetry analysis for solar cycles 18–23

From sunspot drawings provided by the Kanzelhohe Solar Observatory, Austria, and the Skalnate Pleso Observatory, Slovak Republic, we extracted a data catalogue of hemispheric Sunspot Numbers covering the time span 1945-2004. The validated catalogue includes daily, monthly-mean, and smoothed-monthly relative sunspot numbers for the northern and southern hemispheres separately and is available for scientific use. These data we then investigated with respect to north-south asymmetries for almost 6 entire solar cycles (Nos. 18-23). For all the cycles studied, we found that the asymmetry based on the absolute asymmetry index is enhanced near the cycle maximum, which contradicts to previous results that are based on the normalized asymmetry index. Moreover, the weak magnetic interdependence between the two solar hemispheres is confirmed by their self-contained evolution during a cycle. For the time span 1945-2004, we found that the cycle maxima and also the declining and increasing phases are clearly shifted, whereas the minima seem to be in phase for both hemispheres. The asymmetric behavior reveals no obvious connection to either the sunspot cycle period of ~11- or the magnetic cycle of ~22-years. The most striking excess of activity is observed for the northern hemisphere in cycles 19 and 20.

The Sidc: World Data Center for the Sunspot Index

Since January 1981, the Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB) has operated the Sunspot Index Data Center (SIDC), the World Data Center for the Sunspot Index. From 2000, the SIDC obtained the status of Regional Warning Center (RWC) of the International Space Environment Service (ISES) and became the “Solar Influences Data analysis Center”. As a data analysis service of the Federation of Astronomical and Geophysical data analysis Services (FAGS), the SIDC collects monthly observations from worldwide stations in order to calculate the International Sunspot Number, Ri. The center broadcasts the daily, monthly, yearly sunspot numbers, with middle-range predictions (up to 12 months). Since August 1992, hemispheric sunspot numbers are also provided.

Hemispheric Sunspot Numbers $\mathsf{R_{n}}$ and $\mathsf{R_{s}}$: Catalogue and N-S asymmetry analysis

Sunspot drawings are provided on a regular basis at the Kanzelhohe Solar Observatory, Austria, and the derived relative sunspot numbers are reported to the Sunspot Index Data Center in Brussels. From the daily sunspot drawings, we derived the northern, R n , and southern, R s , relative sunspot numbers for the time span 1975-2000. In order to accord with the International Sunspot Numbers R i , the R n and R s have been normalized to the R i , which ensures that the relation R n + R s = R i is fulfilled. For validation, the derived R n and R s are compared to the international northern and southern relative sunspot numbers, which are available from 1992. The regression analysis performed for the period 1992-2000 reveals good agreement with the International hemispheric Sunspot Numbers. The monthly mean and the smoothed monthly mean hemispheric Sunspot Numbers are compiled into a catalogue. Based on the derived hemispheric Sunspot Numbers, we study the significance of N-S asymmetries and the rotational behavior separately for both hemispheres. We obtain that ∼60% of the monthly N-S asymmetries are significant at a 95% level, whereas the relative contributions of the northern and southern hemisphere are different for different cycles. From the analysis of power spectra and autocorrelation functions, we derive a rigid rotation with ∼27 days for the northern hemisphere, which can be followed for up to 15 periods. Contrary to that, the southern hemisphere reveals a dominant period of ∼28 days, whereas the autocorrelation is strongly attenuated after 3 periods. These findings suggest that the activity of the northern hemisphere is dominated by an active zone, whereas the southern activity is mainly dominated by individual long-lived sunspot groups.