Mount Wilson Observatory Research Articles

Reconstructing solar magnetic fields from historical observations

Aims. The present work is the first in a series of articles that develop a new proxy to represent the evolution of magnetic activity in past solar cycles by combining the information from historical Ca II K line spectroheliograms and sunspot magnetic field measurements.Methods. We use synoptic (Carrington) maps from 1915–1985 that were derived from daily Ca K line observations at Mount Wilson Observatory to identify the chromospheric plages and to create synoptic pseudo-magnetograms. We use historical observations of sunspot magnetic fields from 1917 to the present to assign polarity to pixels situated within plages. The original Ca K spectroheliograms are nonuniform in their brightness, and we develop a novel approach to re-normalize their intensities.Results. We show that a homogeneous long-term series of pseudo-magnetograms can be successfully constructed by combining sunspot field measurements and plages with renormalized intensities. In our tests, about 80% of pixels situated within plages showed the same magnetic polarity as the synoptic magnetograms taken with the Kitt Peak Vacuum Telescope. Finally, we discuss possible approaches to further improve the agreement between observed and pseudo-magnetograms.

Long-term variations in the sunspot magnetic fields and bipole properties from 1918 to 2014

Long-term measurements of sunspot magnetic fields have been analyzed with the use of the Mount Wilson Observatory (MWO) data based on the digitization of the magnetic field strength (B) and umbra and pore areas from 1918 to 2014. Time variations in the magnetic field strength and the possible causes of such variations (which are related to variations in the solar activity level and instrumental effects) were considered. It was shown that artifacts related to instrumental effects exist in the measurements for small sunspots and pores. The magnetic bipole characteristics were determined for the sunspot groups. It was established that the tilt angle of the magnetic bipole axis of even cycles is larger than the tilt angle in the next odd cycles (except for the cycle pair 22–23).

CYCLE LENGTH DEPENDENCE OF STELLAR MAGNETIC ACTIVITY AND SOLAR CYCLE 23

Solar cycle (SC) 23 was extraordinarily long with remarkably low magnetic activity. We have investigated whether this is a common behavior of solar-type stars. From the Ca ii H and K line intensities of 111 stars observed at Mount Wilson Observatory from 1966 to 1991, we have retrieved data of all 23 G-type stars and recalculated their cycle lengths using the damped least-squares method for the chromospheric activity index S as a function of time. A regression analysis was performed to find relations between the derived cycle length, Pavg, and the index for excess chromospheric emission, . As a noteworthy result, we found a segregation between young and old solar-type stars in the cycle length-activity correlation. We incorporated the relation for the solar-type stars into the previously known rule for stellar chromospheric activity and brightness to estimate the variation of solar brightness from SC 22 to SC 23 as (0.12 ± 0.06)%, much higher than the actual variation of total solar irradiance (TSI) ≤0.02%. We have then examined solar spectral irradiance (SSI) to find a good phase correlation with a sunspot number in the wavelength range of 170–260 nm, which is close to the spectral range effective in heating the Earth's atmosphere. Therefore, it appears that SSI rather than TSI is a good indicator of the chromospheric activity, and its cycle length dependent variation would be more relevant to the possible role of the Sun in the cyclic variation of the Earth's atmosphere.

Comparison of Debrecen and Mount Wilson/Kodaikanal sunspot group tilt angles and the Joy's law

The study of active region tilt angles and their variations in different time-scales plays an important role in revealing the subsurface dynamics of magnetic flux ropes and in understanding the dynamo mechanism. In order to reveal the exact characteristics of tilt angles, precise long-term tilt angle data bases are needed. However, there are only a few different data sets at present, which are difficult to be compared and cross-calibrate because of their substantial deviations. In this paper, we describe new tilt angle data bases derived from the Debrecen Photoheliographic Data (DPD) (1974–) and from the SOHO/MDI-Debrecen Data (SDD) (1996–2010) sunspot catalogues. We compare them with the traditional sunspot group tilt angle data bases of Mount Wilson Observatory (1917–85) and Kodaikanal Solar Observatory (1906–87) and we analyse the deviations. Various methods and filters are investigated which may improve the sample of data and may help in deriving better results based on combined data. As a demonstration of the enhanced quality of the improved data set a refined diagram of Joy's law is presented.

Can beating between different dynamo modes explain multiple magnetic cycles in solar - type stars

Stellar magnetic activity can be characterized by a chaotic, multiple or single cycle behavior. Sometimes cyclic activity can be interrupted by a flat behavior. The mechanism that produce such a diverse behavior in stellar atmosphere is a matter of debate. We decided to address this issue by investigating the properties of a sample of 40 stars with high quality cycles, selected from the original data provided by the Mount Wilson Observatory. This sample contains stars with single and secondary cycles, whose secondary periods are longer or shorter than the primary cycle.

Properties of sunspot umbrae of leading and trailing polarity in 1917–2013

Using the software developed by us, we produced a digitized (tabulated) database of sunspot umbrae and pores observed at Mount Wilson Observatory (MWO) in 1917–2013. The database includes the heliographic coordinates, areas and the polarity and strength of magnetic fields of umbrae and pores in the MWO sunspot drawings. Using this database we study here the properties and long-term variation of sunspot umbrae and pores, separately for leading and trailing polarity spots. We find that the leading sunspots have tendency for larger umbrae and stronger magnetic field strength than the trailing spots. The average field strength and area of sunspot umbrae vary with sunspot cycle. Furthermore, the mean magnetic field strength in sunspot umbrae exhibits a gradual increase from early 1960s to 1990s. The nature of this increase is discussed.

Single spots, unipolar magnetic regions, and pairs of spots

McIntosh (1981) noted that sunspot pairs appear preferentially near the boundary of unipolar magnetic (UM) regions of opposite polarity. A large number of solar magnetograms from the Mount Wilson Observatory and the Kitt Peak Observatory during fairly quiet periods are examined to confirm his finding. In this study, it is also found collaterally that positive single spots appear in a positive UM region and vice versa. It is suggested thus that a pair of spots of opposite polarity is formed because two single spots develop in the vicinity of the boundary (the neutral line) of two UM regions of opposite polarity for polarity arrangement appropriate to the Hale law, namely, the Hale boundary. For these reasons, it is suggested that single spots and UM regions have significant meaning in solar magnetism.

PERIODICITY OF THE SOLAR FULL-DISK MAGNETIC FIELDS

A full-disk solar magnetogram has been measured each day since 1970 January 19, and the daily Magnetic Plage Strength Index (MPSI) and the daily Mount Wilson Sunspot Index (MWSI) were calculated for each magnetograrn. at the Mount Wilson Observatory. The MPSI and MWSI are used to investigate the periodicity of the solar full-disk magnetic activity through autocorrelation analyses. Just two periods, the solar cycle and the rotation cycle, are determined in both the MPSI (the solar full-disk weak magnetic field activity) and MWSI (the solar full-disk strong magnetic field activity) with no annual signal found. The solar cycle for MPSI (10.83 yr) is found to be obviously longer than that for MW SI (9.77 yr). The rotation cycle is determined to be 26.8 0.63 sidereal days for MPSI and 27.4 2.4 sidereal days for MWSI. The rotation cycle length for MPSI is found to fluctuate around 27 days within a very small amplitude, but for MWSI it obviously temporally varies with a rather large amplitude. The rotation cycle for MWSI seems longer near solar minimum than at solar maximum. Cross-correlation analyses of daily MPSI and MWSI are carried out, and it is inferred that the MPSI components partly come from relatively early MWSI measurements.

What do the solar activity indices represent?

AbstractSunspot number, sunspot area, and radio flux at 10.7 cm are the indices which are most frequently used to describe the long‐term solar activity. The data of the daily solar full‐disk magnetograms measured at Mount Wilson Observatory from 19 January 1970 to 31 December 2012 are utilized together with the daily observations of the three indices to probe the relationship of the full‐disk magnetic activity respectively with the indices. Cross correlation analyses of the daily magnetic field measurements at Mount Wilson observatory are taken with the daily observations of the three indices, and the statistical significance of the difference of the obtained correlation coefficients is investigated. The following results are obtained: (1) The sunspot number should be preferred to represent/reflect the full‐disk magnetic activity of the Sun to which the weak magnetic fields (outside of sunspots) mainly contribute, the sunspot area should be recommended to represent the strong magnetic activity of the Sun (in sunspots), and the 10.7 cm radio flux should be preferred to represent the full‐disk magnetic activity of the Sun (both the weak and strong magnetic fields) to which the weak magnetic fields mainly contribute. (2) On the other hand, the most recommendable index that could be used to represent/reflect the weak magnetic activity is the 10.7 cm radio flux, the most recommendable index that could be used to represent the strong magnetic activity is the sunspot area, and the most recommendable index that could be used to represent the full‐disk magnetic activity of the Sun is the 10.7cm radio flux. Additionally, the cycle characteristics of the magnetic field strengths on the solar disk are given. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Do Solar Coronal Holes Affect the Properties of Solar Energetic Particle Events?

The intensities and timescales of gradual solar energetic particle (SEP) events at 1 AU may depend not only on the characteristics of shocks driven by coronal mass ejections (CMEs), but also on large-scale coronal and interplanetary structures. It has long been suspected that the presence of coronal holes (CHs) near the CMEs or near the 1-AU magnetic footpoints may be an important factor in SEP events. We used a group of 41 E≈ 20 MeV SEP events with origins near the solar central meridian to search for such effects. First we investigated whether the presence of a CH directly between the sources of the CME and of the magnetic connection at 1 AU is an important factor. Then we searched for variations of the SEP events among different solar wind (SW) stream types: slow, fast, and transient. Finally, we considered the separations between CME sources and CH footpoint connections from 1 AU determined from four-day forecast maps based on Mount Wilson Observatory and the National Solar Observatory synoptic magnetic-field maps and the Wang–Sheeley–Arge model of SW propagation. The observed in-situ magnetic-field polarities and SW speeds at SEP event onsets tested the forecast accuracies employed to select the best SEP/CH connection events for that analysis. Within our limited sample and the three analytical treatments, we found no statistical evidence for an effect of CHs on SEP event peak intensities, onset times, or rise times. The only exception is a possible enhancement of SEP peak intensities in magnetic clouds.

A Multi-Observatory Inter-Comparison of Line-of-Sight Synoptic Solar Magnetograms

The observed photospheric magnetic field is a crucial parameter for understanding a range of fundamental solar and heliospheric phenomena. Synoptic maps, in particular, which are derived from the observed line-of-sight photospheric magnetic field and built up over a period of 27 days, are the main driver for global numerical models of the solar corona and inner heliosphere. Yet, in spite of 60 years of measurements, quantitative estimates remain elusive. In this study, we compare maps from seven solar observatories (Stanford/WSO, NSO/KPVT, NSO/SOLIS, NSO/GONG, SOHO/MDI, UCLA/MWO, and SDO /HMI) to identify consistencies and differences among them. We find that while there is a general qualitative consensus, there are also some significant differences. We compute conversion factors that relate measurements made by one observatory to another using both synoptic map pixel-by-pixel and histogram-equating techniques, and we also estimate the correlation between datasets. For example, Wilcox Solar Observatory (WSO) synoptic maps must be multiplied by a factor of 3 – 4 to match Mount Wilson Observatory (MWO) estimates. Additionally, we find no evidence that the MWO saturation correction factor should be applied to WSO data, as has been done in previous studies. Finally, we explore the relationship between these datasets over more than a solar cycle, demonstrating that, with a few notable exceptions, the conversion factors remain relatively constant. While our study was able to quantitatively describe the relationship between the datasets, it did not uncover any obvious “ground truth.” We offer several suggestions for how this may be addressed in the future.

Cyclic and Long-Term Variation of Sunspot Magnetic Fields

Measurements from the Mount Wilson Observatory (MWO) were used to study the long-term variations of sunspot field strengths from 1920 to 1958. Following a modified approach similar to that presented in Pevtsov et al. (Astrophys. J. Lett. 742, L36, 2011), we selected the sunspot with the strongest measured field strength for each observing week and computed monthly averages of these weekly maximum field strengths. The data show the solar cycle variation of the peak field strengths with an amplitude of about 500 – 700 gauss (G), but no statistically significant long-term trends. Next, we used the sunspot observations from the Royal Greenwich Observatory (RGO) to establish a relationship between the sunspot areas and the sunspot field strengths for cycles 15 – 19. This relationship was used to create a proxy of the peak magnetic field strength based on sunspot areas from the RGO and the USAF/NOAA network for the period from 1874 to early 2012. Over this interval, the magnetic field proxy shows a clear solar cycle variation with an amplitude of 500 – 700 G and a weaker long-term trend. From 1874 to around 1920, the mean value of magnetic field proxy increases by about 300 – 350 G, and, following a broad maximum in 1920 – 1960, it decreases by about 300 G. Using the proxy for the magnetic field strength as the reference, we scaled the MWO field measurements to the measurements of the magnetic fields in Pevtsov et al. (2011) to construct a combined data set of maximum sunspot field strengths extending from 1920 to early 2012. This combined data set shows strong solar cycle variations and no significant long-term trend (the linear fit to the data yields a slope of − 0.2±0.8 G year−1). On the other hand, the peak sunspot field strengths observed at the minimum of the solar cycle show a gradual decline over the last three minima (corresponding to cycles 21 – 23) with a mean downward trend of ≈ 15 G year−1.

CALIBRATING 100 YEARS OF POLAR FACULAE MEASUREMENTS: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE EVOLUTION OF THE HELIOSPHERIC MAGNETIC FIELD

Although the Sun's polar magnetic fields are thought to provide important clues for understanding the 11-year sunspot cycle, including the observed variations of its amplitude and period, the current database of high-quality polar-field measurements spans relatively few sunspot cycles. In this paper we address this deficiency by consolidating Mount Wilson Observatory polar faculae data from four data reduction campaigns, validating it through a comparison with facular data counted automatically from MDI intensitygrams, and calibrating it against polar field measurements taken by the Wilcox Solar Observatory and average polar field and total polar flux calculated using MDI line-of-sight magnetograms. Our results show that the consolidated polar facular measurements are in excellent agreement with both polar field and polar flux estimates, making them an ideal proxy to study the evolution of the polar magnetic field. Additionally, we combine this database with sunspot area measurements to study the role of the polar magnetic flux in the evolution of the heliospheric magnetic field (HMF). We find that there is a strong correlation between HMF and polar flux at solar minimum and that, taken together, polar flux and sunspot area are better at explaining the evolution of the HMF during the last century than sunspot area alone.

Allan Rex Sandage. 18 June 1926 — 13 November 2010

Allan Sandage was an observational astronomer who was happiest at a telescope. On the sudden death of Edwin Hubble, Sandage inherited the programmes using the world’s largest optical telescope at Palomar to determine the distances and number counts of galaxies. Over many years he greatly revised the distance scale and, on reworking Hubble’s analysis, discovered the error that had led Hubble to doubt the interpretation of the galaxies’ redshifts as an expansion of the Universe. Sandage showed that there was a consistent age of creation for the stars, the elements and the cosmos. Through work with Baade and Schwarzschild he discovered the key to the interpretation of the colour–magnitude diagrams of star clusters in terms of stellar evolution. With others he founded galactic archaeology, interpreting the motions and elemental abundances of the oldest stars in terms of a model for the Galaxy’s formation. He published several fine atlases and catalogues of galaxies and a definitive history of the Mount Wilson Observatory.

CARRINGTON MAPS OF Ca II K-LINE EMISSION FOR THE YEARS 1915-1985

We have used Mount Wilson Observatory calcium K-line images, digitized and flat fielded by the solar group at UCLA, to construct Carrington maps of Ca II 3934 A intensity for the years 1915-1985. These maps have a spatial resolution comparable to the resolution of Carrington maps of the magnetic field observed at Kitt Peak and a spectral resolution comparable to the width of the K232 emission. Consequently, they provide a way of tracking the spatial distribution of magnetic flux from the present back to the year 1915. In this paper, we compare some of the recent K-line maps with corresponding maps of magnetic field, and show examples of K-line maps during earlier sunspot cycles when high-quality magnetograms were not available. Then, we use butterfly diagrams and super-synoptic displays to summarize the long-term evolution of the patterns of calcium intensity. Although each cycle has characteristics that are similar to the others, cycle 19 is remarkable for its broad latitudinal distribution of active regions, for its giant poleward surges of flux, and for the emergence of a north-south asymmetry that lasted 10 years.

The activity of the solar atmosphere and solar-type stars at 11-year and quasi-biennial timescales

Observations of a time series of solar activity indices are compared with new simultaneous observations of the flux variations of the photospheric and chromospheric emissions of 33 stars during the HK project that were conducted over the past 20 years. In addition to the known cyclic chromospheric emissions of stars in the 11-year time scale, which was discovered at the Mount Wilson Observatory and Stanford University, we found a recurrence that is similar to the quasi-biennial variations of solar radiation fluxes. The results of calculations of the of radiation flux variation periods of stars at the quasi-biennial scale are given.

Coronal Field Opens at Lower Height During the Solar Cycles 22 and 23 Minimum Periods: IMF Comparison Suggests the Source Surface Should Be Lowered

The solar cycle 23 minimum period has been characterized by a weaker solar and interplanetary magnetic field. This provides an ideal time to study how the strength of the photospheric field affects the interplanetary magnetic flux and, in particular, how much the observed interplanetary fields of different cycle minima can be understood simply from differences in the areas of the coronal holes, as opposed to differences in the surface fields within them. In this study, we invoke smaller source surface radii in the potential-field source-surface (PFSS) model to construct a consistent picture of the observed coronal holes and the near-Earth interplanetary field strength as well as polarity measurements for the cycles 23 and 22 minimum periods. Although the source surface value of 2.5 R ⊙ is typically used in PFSS applications, earlier studies have shown that using smaller source surface heights generates results that better match observations during low solar activity periods. We use photospheric field synoptic maps from Mount Wilson Observatory (MWO) and find that the values of ≈ 1.9 R ⊙ and ≈ 1.8 R ⊙ for the cycles 22 and 23 minimum periods, respectively, produce the best results. The larger coronal holes obtained for the smaller source surface radius of cycle 23 somewhat offsets the interplanetary consequences of the lower magnetic field at their photospheric footpoints. For comparison, we also use observations from the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) and find that the source surface radius of ≈ 1.5 R ⊙ produces better results for cycle 23, rather than ≈ 1.8 R ⊙ as suggested from MWO observations. Despite this difference, our results obtained from MWO and MDI observations show a qualitative consistency regarding the origins of the interplanetary field and suggest that users of PFSS models may want to consider using these smaller values for their source surface heights as long as the solar activity is low.

On chromospheric variations modeling for main-sequence stars of G and K spectral classes

We present a method of 13 late-type main-sequence stars chromospheric flux observation data calculations. These Sun-like stars have well-determined cyclic flux variations similar to the 11-year solar activity cycle. Our flux prediction is based on chromospheric HK emission time series measurements from the Mount Wilson Observatory and comparable solar data. We show that solar three - component modeling explains well the stellar observations. We find that the 10 - 20% of K - stars disc’s surfaces are occupied by bright active regions.

POWER SPECTRUM ANALYSIS OF MOUNT WILSON SOLAR DIAMETER MEASUREMENTS: EVIDENCE FOR SOLAR INTERNALr-MODE OSCILLATIONS

This article presents a power-spectrum analysis of 39,024 measurements of the solar diameter made at the Mount Wilson Observatory from 1968.670 to 1997.965. This power spectrum contains a number of very strong peaks. We find that eight of these peaks agree closely with the frequencies of r-mode oscillations for a region of the Sun where the sidereal rotation frequency is 12.08 year$^{-1}$. We estimate that there is less than one chance in ten to the sixth power of finding this pattern by chance.

Rotation periods of exoplanet host stars

The stellar rotation periods of 10 exoplanet host stars have been determined using newly analysed Ca ii H&K flux records from the Mount Wilson Observatory and Strömgren b, y photometric measurements from Tennessee State University's automatic photometric telescopes at the Fairborn Observatory. Five of the rotation periods have not previously been reported, with that of HD 130322 very strongly detected at Prot= 26.1 ± 3.5 d. The rotation periods of five other stars have been updated using new data. We use the rotation periods to derive the line-of-sight inclinations of the stellar rotation axes, which may be used to probe theories of planet formation and evolution when combined with the planetary orbital inclination found from other methods. Finally, we estimate the masses of 14 exoplanets under the assumption that the stellar rotation axis is aligned with the orbital axis. We calculate the mass of HD 92788 b (28 MJ) to be within the low-mass brown dwarf regime and suggest that this object warrants further investigation to confirm its true nature.