How are sunspots related to prominences and solar flares?

Sunspots mark areas of intense magnetic fields on the sun's surface, and prominences often form along the magnetic field lines between pairs of sunspots. Solar flares are triggered by rapid changes in the sun's surface magnetic field, and so they too are usually ociated with sunspots, where the magnetic field is more intense and distorted. While prominences and flares can occur in the absence of sunspots, they are weaker because the magnetic fields are weaker.