  Four different methods are applied here to study the precursors of flare
activity in the Active Region NOAA 10486. Two approaches track the temporal
behaviour of suitably chosen features (one, the weighted horizontal gradient
WGM, is generalised form the horizontal gradient of the magnetic field, GM;
another is the sum of the horizontal gradient of the magnetic field, GS, for
all sunspot pairs). WGM is a photospheric indicator that is a proxy measure of
magnetic non-potentiality of a specific area of the active region, i.e. it
captures the temporal variation of the weighted horizontal gradient of magnetic
flux summed up for the region where opposite magnetic polarities are highly
mixed. The third one, referred to as the separateness parameter, S(lf),
considers the overall morphology. Further, GS and S(lf) are photospheric newly
defined quick-look indicators of the polarity mix of the entire active region.
The fourth method is tracking the temporal variation of small x-ray flares,
their times of succession and their energies observed by the Reuven Ramaty High
Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager instrument. All approaches yield specific
pre-cursory signatures for the imminence of flares.
