CMEs that emanate out of the sun, are linked to it by combination of electric current and magnetic field
http://ase.tufts.edu/cosmos/pictures/Sept09/Fig8_7.MagCloud.gif
moving through heliosphere as shown by this NASA animation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZZr9TF1qI0&feature
If the swirling concentration of electro & magnetic energy (often referred to as magnetic cloud or magnetic rope) doesn't hit a magnetosphere it progresses to the far reaches of the heliosphere and disperses along the heliopause.
If it does hit a magnetosphere, a reconnection ensues, part of it is short-circuited and some of the energy is discharged.
http://www.igpp.ucla.edu/public/THEMIS/SCI/Pubs/Nuggets/reconnection/262351main_reconnect.mpg
Since the 'magnetic rope' is connected to the source, i.e. the sun, the short circuit effect is fed back to the solar surface (CME solar feedback) as an electro-magnetic energy shock-wave of great intensity (analogous to a short circuiting effect on any source of electric current).
Two gas giants (Jupiter and Saturn)have huge magnetospheres many hundreds times of the Earth's (Jupiter's magnetosphere extends to ~ 5AU), so the reconnection events are that more powerful and far more frequent.
Certain configurations of Jupiter and Saturn's orbital locations will envelop larger or smaller extant of the heliosphere, thus changes in the volume of the electro-magnetic interaction space will result in modulating intensity of 'CME solar feedback' in the time domain. The feedback effect can be sufficiently strong to regulate behaviour of the weak-ish sun's magnetic polar field, which is widely accepted to be a precursor of the following sunspot cycle.
Proposed result of the above spatio-temporal modulation can be expressed in numerical form as an equation where planetary orbital parameters modulate strength and polarity of the solar dipole:
http://www.vukcevic.co.uk/LFC2.htm
The above equation shows that there is high correlation between observed data and numerical interpretation of above postulated hypothesis.
Sunspots (as the solar activity in general) in the origin and the consequence are essentially of the electro and magnetic nature, where the gravitational effects are negligible. Thus the role of gravitation force is limited and only important as far as it moves two major magnetospheres along the planetary orbits.
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Sequence CD: |
OR
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Sequence MR:
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Current Disruption Model
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Magnetic Reconnection Model
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Time
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Event
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Time
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Event
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| 0 seconds | Current Disruption | 0 seconds | Magnetic Reconnection |
| 30 seconds | Auroral Disruption | 90 seconds | Current Disruption |
| 60 seconds | Magnetic Reconnection | 120 seconds | Auroral Disruption |
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/themis/auroras/two_models.html
Has Ibex probe observed a flux rope
hitting heliopause:
Space Ribbon ?