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On-line Tools for Solar Data Compiled at the Debrecen Observatory and Their Extensions with the Greenwich Sunspot Data

  • Sunspot Number Recalibration
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Abstract

The primary task of the Debrecen Heliophysical Observatory (DHO) has been the most detailed, reliable, and precise documentation of the solar photospheric activity since 1958. This long-term effort resulted in various solar catalogs based on ground-based and space-borne observations. A series of sunspot databases and on-line tools were compiled at DHO: the Debrecen Photoheliographic Data (DPD, 1974 –), the dataset based on the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) called SOHO/MDI-Debrecen Data (SDD, 1996 – 2010), and the dataset based on the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) of the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) called SDO/HMI–Debrecen Data (HMIDD, 2010 – ). User-friendly web-presentations and on-line tools were developed to visualize and search data. As a last step of the compilation, the revised version of Greenwich Photoheliographic Results (GPR, 1874 – 1976) catalog was converted to DPD format, and a homogeneous sunspot database covering more than 140 years was created. The database of images for the GPR era was completed with the full-disc drawings of the Hungarian historical observatories Ógyalla and Kalocsa (1872 – 1919) and with the polarity drawings of Mount Wilson Observatory. We describe the main characteristics of the available data and on-line tools.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the European Community’s Seventh Framework Program (FP7 SP1-Cooperation) under grant agreement No. 284461 (EHEROES). The various tasks related to the databases and tools described in this article were supported during the past 23 years by the following grants: European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007 – 2015) under grant agreement No. 284461 (EHEROES, Mar. 2012 – Feb. 2015) and No. 218816 (SOTERIA, Nov. 2008 – Oct. 2011); ESA PECS contracts No. 98017 (2004 – 2007) and No. C98081 (2009 – 2012); National Development Agency under grant agreement No. BONUS_HU_08/2009-003 (2010 – 11) and TÁMOP 4.2.2.C-11/1/KONV/2012-0015 (2012 – 13); U.S.-Hungarian Joint Fund for Science and Technology under contract No. 95a-524 (1996 – 1998); SCOSTEP supplemental STEP grant (1995); Hungarian Ministry of Cultural Heritage under Millenium Program grant agreement No. SzÖP422 (1999 – 2001); Grants of the Hungarian National Foundation for Scientific Research Nos. OTKA T037725 (2002 – 2005), T025640 (1998 – 2000), T019829 (1996 – 1999), T014036 (1994 – 1996), T007422 (1993 – 1996), F4142 (1992 – 1995), P31104 (1998), and U21342 (1996). We thank the referees and grant providers for supporting our proposals.

We express our deepest gratitude to the colleagues at the collaborating observatories for participating in the daily routine observations and putting the necessary material at our disposal. The contributing observatories taking white-light full-disc and/or magnetic observations were: Abastumani Astrophysical Observatory (Georgia), Astronomical Observatory of Ural State University (Russia), INAF-Catania Astrophysical Observatory (Italy), Crimean Astrophysical Observatory (Russia), Ebro Observatory (Spain), Helwan Observatory (Egypt), Huairou Solar Observing Station of National Astronomical Observatories of CAS (China), Institute of Geophysics and Astronomy of Cuba (Cuba), Kanzelhöhe Solar Observatory (Austria), Kiev University Observatory (Ukraine), Pulkovo Observatory and its Kislovodsk Observing Station (Russia), Kodaikanal Observatory (India), Mauna Loa Solar Observatory (USA), Mount Wilson Observatory (USA), San Fernando Observatory (USA), Solar Observatory of National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (Japan), Rome Astronomical Observatory (Italy), Royal Observatory of Belgium (USET data/image of Uccle/Brussels, Belgium), Royal Greenwich Observatory (UK), Sayan Observatory of Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics of Siberian Department of RAS (Russia), Tashkent Observatory (Uzbekistan), Ussuriysk Astrophysical Observatory of Far-Eastern Branch of the RAS (Russia), Valašské Meziříčí Observatory (Czech Republic).

The Mount Wilson white-light full-disc scans are available thanks to the Mt. Wilson Solar Photographic Archive Digitization Project supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant No. 0236682. The magnetic database includes data from the synoptic program at the 150-Foot Solar Tower of the Mount Wilson Observatory. The Mt. Wilson 150-Foot Solar Tower is operated by UCLA, with funding from NASA, ONR and NSF, under agreement with the Mt. Wilson Institute. The observations of Kanzelhöhe Solar Observatory are available by courtesy of the Central European Solar ARchives (CESAR). The Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) data are used by courtesy of the SOHO/MDI research group at Stanford University. Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) is a mission of international cooperation between ESA and NASA. The SDO/HMI images are available by courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams. NSO/Kitt Peak magnetic data used here are produced cooperatively by NSF, NASA/GSFC, and NOAA/SEL. We acknowledge the courtesy of editors of Solnechnie Dannie solar catalog, who permit the use of magnetic-polarity drawings observed by several contributing observatories. This work utilizes data obtained by the Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) Program, managed by the National Solar Observatory, which is operated by AURA, Inc. under a cooperative agreement with the NSF. The data were acquired by instruments operated by the Big Bear Solar Observatory, High Altitude Observatory, Learmonth Solar Observatory, Udaipur Solar Observatory, Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, and Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory. Data used here from Mees Solar Observatory, University of Hawaii, are produced with the support of NASA grant NNG06GE13G. We acknowledge the courtesy of Yunnan Astronomical Observatory (YNAO) for permitting the use of magnetic-polarity drawings published in Publications of Yunnan Observatory. The images of Precision Solar Photometric Telescope (PSPT) at Mauna Loa are available by courtesy of the Mauna Loa Solar Observatory, operated by the High Altitude Observatory, as part of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). NCAR is supported by the NSF. We appreciate the long-term work of NOAA/NGDC providing a wide range of scientific products and services for solar physics, and publishing the volumes of Solar-Geophysical Data (SGD).

We thank Norbert Nagy, who was a programmer mathematician at DHO, for playing an important role in development of the on-line tools and data pipeline. We are grateful to our colleagues at DHO and at the collaborating institutes who helped the data evaluation and participated in the observations during the last decades.

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Sunspot Number Recalibration

Guest Editors: F. Clette, E.W. Cliver, L. Lefèvre, J.M. Vaquero, and L. Svalgaard

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Baranyi, T., Győri, L. & Ludmány, A. On-line Tools for Solar Data Compiled at the Debrecen Observatory and Their Extensions with the Greenwich Sunspot Data. Sol Phys 291, 3081–3102 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11207-016-0930-1

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