Plasma jets inside the sun foretell unequal activity of its two hemispheres

The sun’s activity waxes and wanes periodically and holds sway over our space environment. Sunspots, strongly magnetized blotches on the solar surface, sometimes release fierce storms in space that severely impact our satellite based communication and navigational systems and occasionally, render satellites useless. However, a complete understanding of all aspects of the sunspot activity cycle remains elusive. One of its curious features is the long observed lopsided activity of its two hemispheres. Sometimes, the northern hemisphere becomes more active, sometime the south, with no apparent way to predict when this might happen.