Letter to the Editor
Polar magnetic flux on the Sun in 1996–2003 from SOHO/MDI data
1
Stanford University, Stanford, USA e-mail: EBenevolenskaya@solar.stanford.edu
2
Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory, St. Petersburg, Russia
Received:
13
September
2004
Accepted:
12
October
2004
Polarity of the polar magnetic fields on the Sun changes in every
11-year sunspot cycle, affecting the large-scale structure of the
corona and heliosphere. Using the SOHO/MDI data, the flux of the
radial component of the magnetic field is estimated for different
latitudinal zones. It is estimated that the total magnetic flux of
the Northern polar zone, from 
to 
, is
about 
Mx, and it is about 
Mx in the similar Southern polar zone. The new data reveal an
interesting result that the total polar magnetic fluxes do not
vary significantly during the polar magnetic field reversals in
both hemispheres, while the positive and negative parts of the
total fluxes do change.
Key words: Sun / solar magnetic field / polar magnetic field reversals / magnetic flux
© ESO, 2004