Motions in the Sun at the photospheric level, VIII. Solar rotation and photospheric circulation
Abstract
From spectra exposed 1953 April zI-Z3, sight-line velocities have been measured at 33z points over the visible surface of the Sun. For any point the sight-line velocity can be expressed as a linear function of velocity components directed to the west and the nofth. Least-squares solutions of such observation equations for various latitudes reveal an asymmetry of rotational velocities in the equatorial zone and the presence of meridional currents. These motions suggest the existence of a circulation in the photosphere similar to that shown in the upper atmosphere of the Earth. This hypothesis is examined in the light of an investigation by M. J. Lighthill, and an observational test is proposed.
- Publication:
-
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Pub Date:
- 1959
- DOI:
- 10.1093/mnras/119.3.197
- Bibcode:
- 1959MNRAS.119..197P