Abstract Details


Name: Sabrina Bechet
Affiliation: Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB)
Conference ID: TVS202510173
Title: Sunspot drawings analysis: past data, current status and future trend
Authors and Co-Authors:
Abstract Type: Invited by SOC
Abstract: Sunspot drawings are a unique source of data to retrieve long-term information on the evolution of the solar cycle. In this talk we will show how a complete archive of drawings can be analysed with modern tools and compiled into a database for scientific analysis. We will illustrate the data exploitation pipeline with the drawings acquired over more than 80 years with the local station USET at the Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB). Recently, the collection has been fully digitized and analysed. We will present our experience with DigiSun, the in-house software developed for the measurement of sunspot drawings and for the construction of a sunspot catalogue for USET. The software is multi-platform and can handle different drawing formats, which allows its application to collections from other observatories. A first successful international collaboration with the Specola Observatory in Locarno was initiated in 2019. In addition, DigiSun could be used to analyse historical drawings and extend the series of detailed solar parameters further back in the past.