Luca Bertello, Mr. - PhD.
National Solar Observatory, USA
       
       
Session 4 - Invited Speaker

Long-term Synoptic Observations of CaII-K and Magnetic Flux

L. Bertello, A.A. Pevtsov, National Solar Observatory, USA
       

Long-term synoptic observations in the resonance line of Ca II K and measurements of the solar magnetic flux over several decades constitute a fundamental database for a variety of retrospective analyses of the state of the solar magnetism. These data archives may also hold the key for untangling some of the mysteries behind the solar dynamo, which in turn could result in a better predictive capability of current dynamo models. Synoptic Ca II K observations began in 1907 at the Kodaikanal observatory (India) and in 1915 at the Mt Wilson (California, USA) solar observatory. By the early 1970s a number of synoptic programs for solar magnetic observations were established that provided full disk magnetograms. These programs include measurements carried out at the Mt Wilson 150-foot solar tower, Wilcox observatory (California, USA), and by the National Solar Observatory (NSO, USA). Today the NSO is continuing these observations through its Synoptic Optical Long-term Investigations of the Sun (SOLIS) facility. I will review some of these historical observations, their properties, and their importance for understanding the behavior of the solar magnetic field over multidecadal time scales. I will also show recent results about using Ca II K spectroheliograms and sunspot magnetic field measurements to reconstruct homogeneous series of pseudo-magnetograms prior the magnetograph era.