On the structure of coronal streamer belts

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Abstract
In an attempt to separate the temporal and spatial variations in polarization brightness (plasma density) along the coronal streamer belt a study is made of the parts of the belt which are longitudinally aligned with the west or east limb of the Sun. It is shown that the brightness distribution along streamer belts is inhomogeneous with relative brightness variations ≈ 1.1–2.0. Streamer belts consist of a sequence of coronal rays (streamers), each of which at distances R > 3Ro from the solar center has a cross section with a typical angular size of ≈10°–70° along the belt and ≈ 10°–30° across the belt with neighboring rays separated by L ≈ 10°–70°. Examples from CRs 1591 and 1592 show that in the absence of coronal mass ejection influence the distribution of streamer rays along the streamer belt can be stable for nearly two complete Carrington rotations.