The Sun Recorded Through History

The reconstruction of past solar activity is aided by studying historical accounts, which help us understand the Sun's behavior over longer timescales. Here, the authors describe how these records can be used to obtain information relevant to today's research.

The Sun is nowadays observed using di?erent techniques that provide an almost instantaneous 3-D map of its structure. Of particular interest is the studyofthevariabilityinthesolaroutputproducedbythedissipationofm- netic energy on di?erent spatial and temporal scales the so-called magnetic activity. The 11-year cycle is the main feature describing this phenomenon. Apart from its intrinsic scienti?c interest, this topic is worth studying because of the interaction of such processes with the terrestrial environment. A ?eet of space and ground-based observatories are currently monitoring the behaviour of our star on a daily basis. However, solar activity varies not only on this decadal time-scale, as has been attested mainly through two methods: (a) records of the number of sunspots observed on the solar surface from 1610, and (b) the records of 14 10 cosmogenic isotopes, such as Cand Be, measured in tree-rings and i- cores, respectively. The study of the long-term behaviour of solar activity may be comp- mented by the study of historical accounts describing phenomena directly or indirectly related to solar activity. Numerous scienti?c and non-scienti?c d- uments have reported these events and we can make use of them as a proxy of solar activity in past times.

An updated reference on the time variation of solar activity in the last thousand years An essential resource on the evolution of solar observations A primary reference for solar amateur astronomers doing observations with simple techniques A description on the impact of astronomical phenomena on the society Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Auteur

M. Vázquez is a senior solar astronomer and author of "Ultraviolet Radiation in the Solar System", already published by Springer in 2005

J.M.Vaquero has written approximately thirty papers about the use of historical observations and measurements in modern astronomical and geophysical studies

Texte du rabat

The Sun Recorded Through History is a text that reconstructs past solar activity based on information from historical documents, complementing studies using other techniques. Historical accounts describing phenomena related to solar activity, such as aurorae, sunspots, and corona observed during solar eclipses can be used as a proxy of solar activity in the past. These descriptions are reviewed, on the one hand providing primary material for the history of astronomy and, on the other, verifying or refuting current ideas concerning the time variability of the Sun on the scale of centuries.

Documents predating the discovery of photography (around 1840) that contain information on these topics are highlighted, but modern drawings are also included. The lower temporal limit of study is set by the archaeoastronomy of prehistoric sources. In addition, the necessary background on the Sun is provided, with special emphasis on observing techniques and the influences of telescopes and the Earth's atmosphere on the data obtained from solar observations.

This book contains over two hundred figures, many of which are reproductions of historical documents and hand drawings. It is an essential resource on the evolution of solar observations and will be of interest to students and researchers in solar physics, as well as astronomers and historians of science.

Contenu
The Sun.- Naked-Eye Sunspots.- Solar Drawings.- Solar Eclipses.- The Solar Diameter and the Astronomical Unit.- Terrestrial Aurorae and Solar#x2013;Terrestrial Relations.- Reconstruction of Solar Activity During the Telescopic Era.