A new interpretation of the Solar magnetic cycle

We define the solar cycle as a spatiotemporal rather than a purely temporal entity. This allows us to introduce new methods to determine timing parame ters of the activity cycles. We discuss the physical interpretation of our spatiotemporal definition as a pair of activity waves travelling towards th e equator and pole respectively, and present results of the corresponding s tatistical analysis. Three important trends of solar activity which are cle arly seen in summary statistics can be used for prediction. We present evid ence of a long term cycle of 90 years manifesting as a modulation of both l ength and symmetry of the Schwabe cycle and identify this with the Gleissbe rg cycle.