There are variations in the number of sunspots seen per month throughout the year. How could you smooth out these variations?

To smooth out short-term fluctuations (like monthly variations) in time series data and highlight longer-term trends or cycles, we use **moving averages**. A moving average is calculated by taking the average of a set of data points over a specific period. For example, to smooth monthly data, a 12-month moving average is often used. You would calculate the average for Jan-Dec, then Feb-Jan, then Mar-Feb, and so on. Plotting these moving averages creates a smoother line that makes the underlying cyclical pattern clearer.