Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Latitude migration of solar activity at high latitudes

  • Articles
  • Astronomy
  • Published:
Chinese Science Bulletin

Abstract

Utilized here is the Carte Synoptique solar filament archive, namely the catalogue of solar filaments from March 1919 to December 1989, corresponding to solar rotation numbers 876 to 1823 to study latitudinal migration of solar activity at high latitudes. Except the well-known poleward migration of solar activity from middle latitudes to the poles, an equatorward migration is found from the solar poles toward middle latitudes (about 40°) within a normal cycle, which is neglected before, and the time interval for the former migration (4.4 years) is about 2.2 years shorter than that for the latter (6.6 years), indicating that the change from one migration to the other takes place around the maximum time of a normal cycle. In the future, a dynamo model should represent the migration from the poles toward middle latitudes of the Sun, besides the migration in “butterfly diagrams” and the “rush to the poles”. The traditional extended activity cycle is actually a part of the period of the successive migration from the poles toward the solar equator.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Schwabe S H. Sunspot cycle. Astron Nachr, 1844, 21: 233–239

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Maunder E W. The sun and sun-spots, 1820–1920. Mon Not Roy Astron Soc, 1922, 82: 534–543

    Google Scholar 

  3. Carrington R C. On the distribution of the solar spots in latitudes since the beginning of the year 1854, with a map. MNRAS, 1858, 19: 1–3

    Google Scholar 

  4. Coffey H E, Hanchett C D. Digital “cartes synoptiques de la chromosphere solaire et catalogues des filaments et des centres d’activite”. In: Webb D F, Schmieder B, Rust D M, eds. New Perspectives on Solar Prominences. Aussois: ASP, 1988. 150: 488–492

    Google Scholar 

  5. Li K J, Yun H S, Gu X M. Latitude migration of sunspot groups. Astron J, 2001, 122: 2115–2117

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Song W B, Wang J X. Large-scale solar cycle features of photospheric magnetic flux. Astrophys J, 2006, 643: L69–L72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Babcock H W. The topology of the Sun’s magnetic field and the 22-year cycle. Astrophys J, 1961, 133: 572–584

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Leighton R B. Transport of magnetic fields on the sun. Astrophys J, 1964, 140: 1547–1552

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Leighton R B. A magneto-kinematic model of the solar cycle. Astrophys J, 1969, 156: 1–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Wang Y M, Sheeley N R J, Nash A G. A new solar cycle model including meridional circulation. Astrophys J, 1991, 383: 431–442

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Rudiger G, Brandenburg A. A solar dynamo in the overshoot layer: Cycle period and butterfly diagram. Astron Astrophys, 1995, 296: 557–564

    Google Scholar 

  12. Dikpati M, de Toma G, Gilman P A, et al. Diagnostics of polar fields reversal in solar cycle 23 using a flux transport dynamo model. Astrophys J, 2004, 601: 1136–1147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Durrant C J, Turner J P R, Wilson O R. The mechanism involved in the reversals of the sun’s polar magnetic fields. Solar Phys, 2004, 222: 345–359

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. d’Azambuja L, d’Azambuja M. Annales de l’Observatoire de Paris, Section de Meudon, 1948, Tom VII, Fascicule VII. 1–33

  15. Mouradian Z. The new “Solar activity synoptic maps” of observatoire de Paris-Meudon. In: Balasubramaniam K S, ed. 18th NSO/Sacramento Peak Summer Workshop. Sunspot: ASP, 1998, 140: 179–184

    Google Scholar 

  16. Minarovjech M, Rybansky M, Rusin V. Time-latitude prominence and the Green Corona distribution over the Solar activity cycle. In: Web D F, Schmieder B, Rust D M, eds. New Perspectives on Solar Prominences. Aussois: ASP, 1998. 150: 484–489

    Google Scholar 

  17. Leroy J L, Noens J C. Does the solar activity cycle extend over more than an 11-year period? Astron Astrophys, 1983, 120: L1–L2

    Google Scholar 

  18. Wilson R P, Altrock K L, Harvey K L, et al. Extended solar cycle. Nature, 1988, 333: 748–750

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Harvey K L. The solar cycle. Proceedings of the National Solar Observatory/Sacramento Peak 12th Summer Workshop, Sunspot, NM, Oct. 15–18, 1991. NM: ASP, 1992. 27: 580–598

    Google Scholar 

  20. Li K J, Yun H S, Liang H F, et al. Solar activity in extended cycles. J Geophys Res, 2002, 107(A7): 1114–1117

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Astronomical Observatories, Yunnan Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650011, China

    Gao PengXin, Li KeJun & Li QiXiu

  2. Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Graduate, Beijing, 100864, China

    Gao PengXin & Li QiXiu

Authors
  1. Gao PengXin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Li KeJun
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Li QiXiu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Li KeJun.

Additional information

Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40636031 and 10573034), the State Key Development Program for Basic Research of China (Grant No. 2006CB806300), and the Chinese Academy of Sciences Project (Grant No. KJCX2-YW-T04)

About this article

Cite this article

Gao, P., Li, K. & Li, Q. Latitude migration of solar activity at high latitudes. Chin. Sci. Bull. 53, 8–11 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-007-0422-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-007-0422-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation