Videomagnetograph studies of solar magnetic fields. II - Field changes in an active region

Using the Caltech videomagnetograph, we obtained a 6.5-hr movie of the magnetic fields in a young active region. The major contribution to the short term magnetic evolution of the region was provided by many discrete magnetic points which move in apparently random directions with typical velocities of 0.4 - 1.0 km/sec. The majority of these features appear to be footpoints of new EFR's, which emerge at an observed rate of one to two per hour. The pattern of the motions suggests that the magnetic evolution of a growing region cannot be principally due to photospheric convective cells.