Date of Award

3-26-2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Applied Physics

Department

Department of Engineering Physics

First Advisor

William F. Bailey, PhD.

Abstract

This research modifies and expands previous work by Spahr in 2014 to automatically identify and classify sunspot groups in satellite images. Data from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) are analyzed to produce a database of sunspot information that is not biased by individual solar observers. Results of the algorithm on SOHO/MDI data correlate well with NOAA's reported data for region properties with R2 values greater than 0.75, but with a ratio of less than one. In particular, the results of analyzing SOHO data report less than 25% of the spots reported by NOAA. By considering a test case comparison with an SDO observation, resolution is likely the main factor in detection discrepancies.

AFIT Designator

AFIT-ENP-MS-15-M-078

DTIC Accession Number

ADA621617

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