A possible example of giant convective cells delineated by magnetic fields

A remarkable north-south pattern of symmetry in the location of filaments on 11 June, 1972 together with an analysis of surface magnetic field harmonics by Altschuler et al. (1974) is offered as evidence for the existence of giant convective cells. Both data suggest a longitudinal wave number of 5, a value which seems to exclude this symmetry being due to effects of a solar -dynamo. The lifetime of these cells was about 2–4 months. This was apparently the only instance from 1959 to 1973 of such cells being manifested in magnetic field patterns which were evident by harmonic analyses or by filament inspections.