D2.2
Lead Beneficiary: KO
Beneficiaries involved: OBSPARIS, UNIGRAZ, ROB, HVAR
Due Date: month 36
Goal
The primary task is production of SOHO/MDI-Debrecen Data sunspot catalogue on the basis of observations of the MDI instrument until full coverage of the SOHO era. The network of ground-based observatories contributes to the completeness of the material, comparison of data derived with different methods, and data validation. Additional tasks are: inserting the new data into the sunspot index; digitization of the observations available in non-digitized form for extension of databases backwards in time; transformation of the photospheric databases to easily accessible and exploitable formats.
Progress so far
Sunspots and faculae at Meudon
Goal
Propose full disk observations in the well known G band (CH molecules) in order to increase contrasts; at our knowledge, this instrument is the only one in the world running in full disk mode
Progress
The instrument is running since March, 15, 2009. It provides systematic observations 3 times/day. The characteristics are the following: - 1800 x 1800 pixels - Central WaveLength: 430.6 nm - Full Width at Half Maximum: 0.85 nm
Persons involved: Jean-Marie Malherbe, Marion Bonafous, Isabelle Bualé, Frédéric Dauny, Sylvain Cnudde
Data freely available in FITS 10 bits and JPEG 8 bits at:
Kanzelhöhe (UNIGRAZ)
The white light camera at the Kanzelhöhe observatory is in operation providing full disk continuum images with a cadence of 1 image/hour. One synoptic image per day is available under: [1]
To improve the data it is planned to further develop the software and do further testing on the camera (flat-field, dark current).
Hvar Observatory (HVAR)
The positions of selected simple sunspot groups were determined in the digitized Kanzelhoehe drawings with the special software SUNGRABBER. Mainly sunspot groups of the Zurich types H and J were used from the years 1972 and 1993, belonging to the similar phases of the solar activity cycle. The determined sunspot group coordinates were compared with those from the Greenwich data set (for the year 1972) and with those from the SOON/USAF/NOAA (for the year 1993). Finally, the rotation velocities were calculated and compared for the two data sets in both observing periods.
Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB)
Goals
Our SOTERIA participation includes three main work items: The global digitization of the Uccle collection of sunspot drawings, and possibly thereafter other drawing series. The production of whole-disk CCD images in white-light, H-alpha and CaII-K to support studies of the solar cycle (WP2) and in addition, in support to chromospheric flares and waves (WP3) and of proxies of solar spectral irradiance (WP5). The study of new image-based activity indices derived from solar images of the photosphere (CCD, photographic): initial data sets (USET, SOHO/MDI).
Progress so far (November 2008 to March 2009)
Participation to joint WP2 activities In November 2008, at the occasion to the European Space Weather Week, we actively took part in the SOTERIA kick-off meeting that was organized during the 5th ESWW. F. Clette presented a talk outlining the ROB contribution to WP2.
In March 2009, following the 3rd Space Climate Symposium in Lapland, F.Clette participated to the special SOTERIA coordination meeting. He summarized the ROB progresses and presented also the initial selection of sunspot and faculae parameters to be measured or collected to address the SOTERIA goals (index definition, databases, irradiance proxies). Global digitization: The existing DIGISUN program, already used routinely for the current Uccle drawing digitization and encoding, was rewritten and improved: better user interface and flexibility in the output format of data files. This work also forms the first step of the development of a new version of this application that will be adapted to the bulk digitization of drawing collections. This application should be adaptable to other drawings collections in the SOTERIA context and beyond. It will be commissioned by mid-2009 in parallel with the training of the operator team that will carry out the global scanning and sunspot group encoding work at ROB. A new A3-format flatbed scanner was purchased in March 2009 on the SOTERIA equipment budget. The actual scanning work will start by July 2009.
The visual data exploitation and active region database mainly involves the development of a new program for the group tracking, connecting successive observations of the same active regions and thus retracing the full chronological evolution of individual sunspot groups. The old program currently used at the ROB for the Uccle sunspot drawings will progressively replaced by a new program. This transition requires an extensive study in order to document it and recover the base algorithms inherited from the last 25 years for the publishing of the Uccle indices in the SIDC Sunspot Bulletin. In December 2008. an initial draft document was prepared outlining the logic and algorithm of new group-tracking software. Further implementation of the new algorithms will proceed in 2009. The resulting methods should be general enough to be applied to other data than visual drawings and to other active region records than visual sunspot observations. This work can thus contribute to the construction of several of the databases and meta-data to be created in the SOTERIA framework.
In parallel with the SOTERIA context, preliminary contacts were established with the solar team of the Astronomical Institute in Tatranska Lomnica (J. Ribak) and with the Specola Solare Ticinense (M. Bianda, S. Cortesi) in order to prepare a coordinated digitization of other drawing collections, covering complementary time intervals next to the Uccle drawings, in a more distant future (post SOTERIA). Production of solar images (USET: Uccle Solar Equatorial Table) The instrument upgrade work is already in progress and well advanced in the framework of an expiring LOTTO/BELSPO budget.
White-light telescope: a new 2Kx2K CCD camera is in operation since July 2008. In April 2008 a new focal reducer was designed and installed to optimize the image scale to the new CCD sensor. H-alpha telescope: a new 2Kx2K CCD camera is in operation since January 2008. The installation of this telescope on a new optical bench allow better adjustment of the telescope parallelism is in preparation and will be done by mid-2009 CaII-K telescope: the telescope optics (D=132mm) were purchased at the end of 2008 (funding: LOTTO/BELSPO). In early 2009, initial studies of the optical design of the focal section have been undertaken. The actual construction and commissioning is still planned for late 2009.
White-light and H-alpha synoptic images have been produced routinely and are accessible in the USET data base (sidc.be/USET). The new CaII-K images will start to be produced and delivered to SOTERIA in the first half of 2010. In order to address the needs of SOTERIA and in particular Work Package 6, special efforts will be done in 2009-2010 at the level of data distribution (archive, database and WEB access). Image-based sunspot indices: Our main initial effort has been to define the full set of measurable sunspot parameters (descriptors) that are either available in existing sunspot databases or in the new sunspot data archives that will be generated in the course of the SOTERIA project. This parameter list would constitute a reference document and a common format that can address the needs of all WP2 members and will facilitate the exploration of new solar activity indices for the community at large (WP6). For this purpose, we established a comprehensive table of parameters and we submitted it to the WP2 community. So far, the feedback has been rather limited. Following suggestion at the recent SOTERIA coordination meeting in Lapland, we will submit it tot the whole SOTERIA community via the SOTERIA wiki. Still, by April 2009, we decided to proceed and choose a default set of sunspot parameters based primarily on the specific needs of sunspot index definition and construction.
Problem areas
The main problem so far was the difficulty to recruit the proper SOTERIA staff at ROB. It is due to the fact that (too) many of the job positions are only a small fraction of a FTE and together, don't cumulate to a FTE. It is also due to the difficulty to find interested candidates with the appropriate competences. Therefore, so far, the work was done entirely by the existing ROB staff. Personnel involved F.Clette: lead scientist (ROB permanent staff, 30%) S. Vanraes: ICT, programmer (ROB permanent staff, 50%) O. Lemaître: operator, observer (ROB permanent staff, 50%) O. Boulvin: operator, observer (ROB permament staff, 15%)
Debrecen Observatory (KO)
The necessary high-capacity computers have been purchased and tested. The tests of the data processing softwares have been made. New assistants have been hired and introduced to the data procession.
Receiving the needed SOHO/MDI observations is in progress. Transport of 10TB of recently re-calibrated magnetograms uploaded for us onto HDDs is ordered from Stanford.
New user-friendly HTML presentation was developed for the ground-based sunspot dataset, and it will be developed further for SDD data.
The Debrecen Photoheliographic Data for 2003 and 2007 were published at http://fenyi.solarobs.unideb.hu. Digitization of the daily ground-based observations for 1986-1988 was made and published. Digitization of the historical sunspot drawing observations by Konkoly for 1872-1891 was made.
New software was started developing to calculate the sunspot index on the basis of ground-based and space-borne sunspot data measured at KO. Sunspot measurements were made for the firts event studied in WP4.
The new 4Kx4K CCD camera on the white-light telescope at Gyula Observing station was adjusted. The software development was made to achieve quick data reduction from its images. The real-time on-line publication of these data is prepared, but it needs better internet connection than we have now. The better connection is ordered.
Personnel involved: (KO permanent staff) A. Ludmány: senior researcher(40%), T. Baranyi: senior researcher (40%), L. Győri: senior researcher (40%), J. Muraközy: young researcher, PhD student (20%), Á. Sáriné, I. Dobiné: assistants (80%), (additional personnel) N. Gyenge: undergraduate student, assistant (40%), N. Nagy: programmer (100%), D. Fenyvesi, E. Imrek: assistants (100%).
