Simulation of solar polar vortices (VIDEO)
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In the simulations, a tight ring of polar vortices forms at around 55 degrees latitude, the equivalent of Earth’s Arctic circle. After forming, the vortices head toward the poles in a tightening ring, shedding vortices as the circle closes, eventually leaving only a pair of vortices directly abutting the poles before they disappear altogether at solar maximum. How many vortices form and their configuration as they move toward the poles changes with the strength of the solar cycle.
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