arXiv subjects

Stanislav Gunár

Publications and source records attributed to Stanislav Gunár.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Analyses on Christoph Clavius' Reports of Total Solar Eclipses in 1560 and 1567: Key References for the Centennial Variations of the Earth's Rotation Speed and the Solar Radius

Variations in solar radius (hereafter R_Sun) is a key reference for solar magnetic activity in time. The sunlight amount may have varied with R_Sun and had an effect on the Earth's climate in the past. Eclipse observations offer a unique opportunity to measure the absolute R_Sun value before modern direct observations. The scientific community has discussed a possible long-term R_Sun variability from 1715 onward. Prior to their coverage, Clavius' eclipse reports had been subjected to qualitative debates regarding the local eclipse visibility and a possible secular R_Sun trend. This study leverages the recent dramatic developments of lunar topography data and ephemeris data to provide an effective resolution of this debate. Clavius' eclipse reports described an explicit totality in 1560 at Coimbra and a "slender circle" around the eclipsing Moon in 1567 at Rome. Our study revised the ΔT constraints of -492 s =< ΔT =< 200 s in 1560 and 140 s =< ΔT =< 151 s in 1567 to satisfy Clavius' descriptions, considering the lunar limb profile and assuming Auwers' canonical R_Sun. This study constrains the R_Sun margin of 1567, utilising three scenarios to interpret Clavius' account. The local totality requires an upper R_Sun limit of 1567 as R_Sun =< 696200 km in absolute size (959.92" in angular size), indicating no linear secular R_Sun shrinkage but possible R_Sun oscillations on a centennial timescale. Conversely, the annularity scenario is considered unlikely because it requires an R_Sun decrease of 7.5" within 3 centuries, even beyond the capacity of extreme shrinking-Sun hypotheses.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2026

Analyses on Wassenius' Report for Total Solar Eclipse in 1733: Quantifications of the Solar Radius and the Earliest Reported Prominences

Total solar eclipses (TSEs) offer a unique opportunity to observe the solar atmosphere, detect limb phenomena, and accurately measure the solar radius. Following the TSE in 1733, Wassenius first reported the existence of prominences to the scientific community. Wassenius' original manuscript is held in the Royal Academy Archives of Sweden; this study translates his report and documents the associated source materials and local eclipse visibility. The solar radius (R_Sun) during the TSE in 1733 are 696250 +/- 170 km and 959.99 +/- 0.24" in the absolute and apparent scales, respectively. This result contrasts with the modern standard (helioseismic) R_Sun of 695780 +/- 160 km and 959.34 +/- 0.22"; however, it is consistent with the solar radius recorded in 1715. The observed prominences are located at +23.5 +/- 22.5°, +66.5 +/- 22.5°, and -68.5 +/- 22.5° in the heliographic latitude. The appearance of prominences at such high latitudes contrasts with the sunspot butterfly diagram for 1725-1750, confirming 1733 as a solar minimum. These high-latitude prominences can potentially be attributed to the so-called 'polar rush' prominences that appear a few years after a solar minimum. If they are categorised as 'polar rush' prominences, the solar minimum must be re-dated to before 1733 May. Furthermore, the latitudes of at least two of the prominences reported by Wassenius enable their classification as quiescent prominences, suggesting the presence of a polarity inversion line in the polar regions in early 1733.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2025

Millimeter-Wavelength Observations of the Active Sun: Unveiling the Origins of Space Weather

Societal dependence on space-based services demands major advances in predicting the impacts of eruptive solar events. Millimeter-wavelength observations offer uniquely direct access to the time-dependent physical conditions in the atmospheric layers of the Sun where these events originate. A facility capable of full-disk, high-cadence, multi-frequency imaging would provide a transformative view of the Sun and its influence on the heliosphere. AtLAST is ideally suited to deliver this capability, and to establish a European leadership role in advancing the scientific foundations that will enable reliable, operational space-weather forecasting for the first time.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2022

ALMA as a prominence thermometer: First observations

We present first prominence observations obtained with ALMA in Band 3 at the wavelength of 3 mm. High-resolution observations have been coaligned with the MSDP H$α$ data from Wroclaw-Bialków large coronagraph at similar spatial resolution. We analyze one particular co-temporal snapshot, first calibrating both ALMA and MSDP data and then demonstrating a reasonable correlation between both. In particular we can see quite similar fine-structure patterns in both ALMA brightness temperature maps and MSDP maps of H$α$ intensities. Using ALMA we intend to derive the prominence kinetic temperatures. However, having current observations only in one band, we use an independent diagnostic constraint which is the H$α$ line integrated intensity. We develop an inversion code and show that it can provide realistic temperatures for brighter parts of the prominence where one gets a unique solution, while within faint structures such inversion is ill conditioned. In brighter parts ALMA serves as a prominence thermometer, provided that the optical thickness in Band 3 is large enough. In order to find a relation between brightness and kinetic temperatures for a given observed H$α$ intensity, we constructed an extended grid of non-LTE prominence models covering a broad range of prominence parameters. We also show the effect of the plane-of-sky filling factor on our results.

astro-ph.SR↗