Chromospheric rotation during 1972?73, years of declining activity

Abstract

The rotational behaviour of the chromosphere, observed in the Ca ii K3 line, is studied during 1972–1973, years of decreasing solar activity. Daily chromospheric filtergrams, detected at the Anacapri Observatory, are digitized by means of a flying-spot photometer, controlled by computer. The time series of the daily chromospheric data detected at central meridian, relative to 30 consecutive latitude zones, are analyzed to determine the recurrence tendency due to the rotation of long-lived chromospheric features. The computed rotation rate is independent of latitude, in agreement with the results obtained for the green corona during the years before sunspot minimum. Namely both chromospheric and coronal features, with lifetime exceeding one solar rotation, are almost not affected by differential rotation before sunspot minimum.