The IAU Solar Target Identifier - A Good Thing

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Noting this, the Editors of Solar Physics, with friends, established a  
Noting this, the Editors of Solar Physics, with friends, established a  
-
naming convention for solar targets in 2010 (Ref. [1]) and have taken
+
naming convention for solar targets in 2010  
 +
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11207-010-9553-0 (Ref. [1])] and have taken
the necessary steps to have it recognized by the International Astronomical
the necessary steps to have it recognized by the International Astronomical
Union ([http://www.iau.org/ IAU]).
Union ([http://www.iau.org/ IAU]).
Line 30: Line 31:
X-class flare of Cycle 24, which we will use as an example below.
X-class flare of Cycle 24, which we will use as an example below.
Note the merit of this system: it locks the community down to a searchable
Note the merit of this system: it locks the community down to a searchable
-
time of occurrence; please read Ref. [1] for more of the bells and whistles
+
time of occurrence; please read  
 +
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11207-010-9553-0 Ref. [1]] for more of the bells and whistles
that can extend the  
that can extend the  
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metadata metadata] embodied in the identifier.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metadata metadata] embodied in the identifier.
Here we have taken advantage of the time field T01:56 to give the standard
Here we have taken advantage of the time field T01:56 to give the standard
GOES peak time for the event, and have omitted the location fields.  
GOES peak time for the event, and have omitted the location fields.  
 +
 +
For aficionados of time styles, the SOL identifier complies with the
 +
[http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/iso-time.html ISO 8601]
 +
and
 +
[http://public.ccsds.org/publications/archive/301x0b3s.pdf CCSDS] standards,
 +
and can easily merge into SolarSoft IDL.
== Uses ==
== Uses ==
Line 40: Line 48:
In this Nugget we describe how we have used this capability;
In this Nugget we describe how we have used this capability;
the RHESSI team picked up on this immediately with the  
the RHESSI team picked up on this immediately with the  
-
publication of the RHESSI monograph in 2011 (Ref. [2]).
+
publication of the RHESSI monograph in 2011  
 +
[http://hesperia.gsfc.nasa.gov/rhessi3/news-and-resources/results/major-mission-publications/index.html (Ref. [2])].
This reference contains links to the individual chapters and to the
This reference contains links to the individual chapters and to the
index, which features the IAU target identifiers.
index, which features the IAU target identifiers.
Line 65: Line 74:
The individual peak for the 2002 listing would be for SOL2002-07-23,
The individual peak for the 2002 listing would be for SOL2002-07-23,
RHESSI's first gamma-ray event.
RHESSI's first gamma-ray event.
-
By year, one can note the spike in 2011 corresponding to the uses in
+
By year, one can note the steady annual increases as more and more papers adopt
-
each of the chapters.
+
the system - SOL2011-02-15 has not peaked yet!
]]
]]
Line 72: Line 81:
Without being systematic about the many virtues of a uniform target
Without being systematic about the many virtues of a uniform target
-
identifier, for which see Ref. [1], the uses we have put this to in
+
identifier, for which see Ref. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11207-010-9553-0 [1]], the uses we have put this to in
RHESSI work are already extensive and helpful.
RHESSI work are already extensive and helpful.
Different authors, for example those of the different chapters of
Different authors, for example those of the different chapters of
-
the RHESSI monograph (Ref. [2]) can quickly relate their interest in a
+
the RHESSI monograph  
 +
[http://hesperia.gsfc.nasa.gov/rhessi3/news-and-resources/results/major-mission-publications/index.html (Ref. [2])] can quickly relate their interest in a
specific flare event with properties found by somebody else.
specific flare event with properties found by somebody else.
At some point in the future we hope that this convenience will become
At some point in the future we hope that this convenience will become
almost universal.
almost universal.
 +
 +
One could almost begin to think about an "event review" of SOL2011-02-15, based on the 19 articles thus
 +
identified; in our community we often become very enthusiastic about a single event, but seldom try to
 +
synthesize the data into a critical review.
 +
It is too bad that this scheme will not work for more influential older events such as SOL1859-09-01 or SOL1992-01-13.
== References ==
== References ==

Revision as of 09:17, 29 December 2014


Nugget
Number: 243
1st Author: Hugh Hudson
2nd Author:
Published: December 29, 2014
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Contents

Introduction

Naming conventions have always been a nuisance in astronomy. Who among us can readily identify Messier 1 with Tau XR-1, for example, or list even half a dozen of the 37 other names it has in the SIMBAD service? Solar identifications are worse than in other fields of astronomy because the interesting itmes are always transient and need a time reference.

Noting this, the Editors of Solar Physics, with friends, established a naming convention for solar targets in 2010 (Ref. [1)] and have taken the necessary steps to have it recognized by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Their article describes the potential utility of having a uniform nomenclature, which in its abbreviated form uniquely defines a flare by its time only: SOL2011-02-15T01:56 almost uniquely identifies the first X-class flare of Cycle 24, which we will use as an example below. Note the merit of this system: it locks the community down to a searchable time of occurrence; please read Ref. [1] for more of the bells and whistles that can extend the metadata embodied in the identifier. Here we have taken advantage of the time field T01:56 to give the standard GOES peak time for the event, and have omitted the location fields.

For aficionados of time styles, the SOL identifier complies with the ISO 8601 and CCSDS standards, and can easily merge into SolarSoft IDL.

Uses

In this Nugget we describe how we have used this capability; the RHESSI team picked up on this immediately with the publication of the RHESSI monograph in 2011 (Ref. [2)]. This reference contains links to the individual chapters and to the index, which features the IAU target identifiers. The listing conveniently shows 116 individual solar flare events (one from the 1800s, 40 from the 1900s, and 75 from the 2000s). That in itself is a bit interesting, since the non-RHESSI events thus amounted to something like 1/3 of the flares actually discussed in this RHESSI-oriented book.

How well has the community taken up this notation? One commonly sees it now in new papers, and one can search for individual events or groups of events via the wonderful NASA ADS bibligraphic service. We have done this for some test cases, as illustrated in Figure 1. This shows all of the entries with SOL2002, ie for flares of that year all of the entries with SOL2011, ditto, and specifically SOL2011-02-15, our demonstration event.

Figure 1: The community takeup as found by using the ADS "fulltext" search capability, for two memorable years and for one specific flare. The counts show the number of articles mentioning the chosen target. The individual peak for the 2002 listing would be for SOL2002-07-23, RHESSI's first gamma-ray event. By year, one can note the steady annual increases as more and more papers adopt the system - SOL2011-02-15 has not peaked yet!

Conclusions

Without being systematic about the many virtues of a uniform target identifier, for which see Ref. [1], the uses we have put this to in RHESSI work are already extensive and helpful. Different authors, for example those of the different chapters of the RHESSI monograph (Ref. [2)] can quickly relate their interest in a specific flare event with properties found by somebody else. At some point in the future we hope that this convenience will become almost universal.

One could almost begin to think about an "event review" of SOL2011-02-15, based on the 19 articles thus identified; in our community we often become very enthusiastic about a single event, but seldom try to synthesize the data into a critical review. It is too bad that this scheme will not work for more influential older events such as SOL1859-09-01 or SOL1992-01-13.

References

[1] "Solar Observation Target Identification Convention for Solar Physics"

[2] "High-Energy Aspects of Solar Flares"

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