Synoptic Hα full-disk observations of the sun from big bear solar observatory: I. Instrumentation, Image Processing, Data Products, and First Results

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-1999

Abstract

The Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO) has a long tradition of synoptic full-disk observations. Synoptic observations of contrast enhanced full-disk images in the Ca II K-line have been used with great success to reproduce the H I Lα irradiance variability observed with the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS). Recent improvements in data calibration procedures and image-processing techniques enable us now to provide contrast enhanced Hα full-disk images with a spatial resolution of approximately 2″ and a temporal resolution of up to 3 frames min-1. In this first paper in a series, we describe the instruments, the data calibration procedures, and the image-processing techniques used to obtain our daily Hα full-disk observations. We also present the final data products such as low- and high-contrast images, and Carrington rotation charts. A time series of an erupting mini-filament further illustrates the quality of our Hα full-disk observations and motivate one of the future research projects. This lays a solid foundation for our subsequent studies of solar activity and chromospheric fine structures. The high quality and the sunrise-to-sunset operation of the Hα full-disk observations presented in this paper make them an ideal choice to study statistical properties of mini-filament eruptions, chromospheric differential rotation, and meridional flows within the chromosphere, as well as the evolution of active regions, filaments, flares, and prominences.

Identifier

0002348128 (Scopus)

Publication Title

Solar Physics

External Full Text Location

https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005047906097

ISSN

00380938

First Page

87

Last Page

102

Issue

1

Volume

184

Grant

ATM-9796196

Fund Ref

National Science Foundation

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