Large-scale flow patterns in the solar atmosphere

Abstract

One of the results of a study on the migration of H-alpha filaments, namely, the existence of meridional flow on the sun, is presented and extended to show the participation of this meridional flow in the solar cycle variation. The filament bands start their poleward migration with small speeds ranging from 5 to 20 m/s synchronously with the rising phase of the solar cycle. It is inferred from migration diagrams that during the years of the solar minimum, the filament bands do not show signs of a continuous migration toward the poles.