Some patterns in the development of centers of solar activity, 1962–66

Abstract

A graphical representation of the 66 solar rotations (Carrington) between January 1, 1962 and December 31, 1966 has been prepared. It includes all centers of activity for which the calcium plage attained an area of at least 1000 millionths of the solar hemisphere and/or intensity 3 (McMath scale). In this study the antecedents, descendents, and neighbors of each region can easily be discerned. The work shows clearly that zones of activity, apparently closely related and much larger than single plages existed for long intervals of time. For example, the significant increases in solar activity in February, May, and October of 1965 occurred in a ‘family’ of calcium plages apparently related through similarities of position and strong radio emission. The members of ‘families’ of centers of activity are found at systematically changing longitudes. For some ‘families’ the change of longitude appears to be primarily a consequence of differential rotation; for others, the pattern of formation of active centers dominates. According to the data for 1962–66 a meaningful study of the development of a center of activity may require consideration not only of the past history of the zone of the Sun in which it occurs but also of the zone approximately 180° away on the opposite hemisphere.