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arXiv · 1611.04540

The Mount Wilson Observatory S-index of the Sun

Ricky Egeland·Willie Soon·Sallie Baliunas·Jeffrey C. Hall·Alexei A. Pevtsov·Luca Bertello
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Abstract

The most commonly used index of stellar magnetic activity is the instrumental flux scale of singly-ionized calcium H & K line core emission, S, developed by the Mount Wilson Observatory (MWO) HK Project, or the derivative index R'_HK. Accurately placing the Sun on the S scale is important for comparing solar activity to that of the Sun-like stars. We present previously unpublished measurements of the reflected sunlight from the Moon using the second-generation MWO HK photometer during solar cycle 23 and determine cycle minimum S_min,23 = 0.1634 +/- 0.0008, amplitude Delta S_23 = 0.0143 +/- 0.0012, and mean = 0.1701 +/- 0.0005. By establishing a proxy relationship with the closely related National Solar Observatory Sacramento Peak calcium K emission index, itself well-correlated with the Kodaikanal Observatory plage index, we extend the MWO S time series to cover cycles 15-24 and find on average = 0.1621 +/- 0.0008, = 0.0145 +/- 0.0012, = 0.1694 +/- 0.0005. Our measurements represent an improvement over previous estimates which relied on stellar measurements or solar proxies with non-overlapping time series. We find good agreement from these results with measurements by the Solar-Stellar Spectrograph at Lowell Observatory, an independently calibrated instrument, which gives us additional confidence that we have accurately placed the Sun on the S-index flux scale.

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Ricky Egeland, Willie Soon, Sallie Baliunas, Jeffrey C. Hall, Alexei A. Pevtsov, Luca Bertello. 2016-11-15. The Mount Wilson Observatory S-index of the Sun. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357%2F835%2F1%2F25

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