European project · Space
Sun4All
Citizen sunspot counting in a historical archive of images of the Sun
About the project
Sun4All was a project to promote science in general and astronomy in particular. It was based on an archive of more than 30,000 images of the Sun (spectroheliograms) held at the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Coimbra, the result of more than 80 years of daily solar observations that began in 1926.
The app showed each participant a spectroheliogram with the date it was taken, along with tools to adjust the image and count the sunspots and sunspot groups.
Project objectives
The project asked the public to help analyse and count sunspots. Sunspots are very important for studying phenomena on the Sun’s surface and for understanding solar activity and the solar cycle. Studying them also helps us understand part of what happens in the Earth’s climate.
The role of Ibercivis
Sun4All was led by researchers from the Department of Mathematics and the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Coimbra. The app was developed by the team of the European project SOCIENTIZE, whose partners included the University of Zaragoza and the University of Coimbra. Ibercivis promoted the project on its website and blog.
Our activities
- Development of the web app for counting sunspots (sun4all.socientize.eu).
- Presentation of Sun4All by researcher João Fernandes at the SOCIENTIZE public session held in Coimbra on 9 October 2013.
Project details
Type of project
European
Consortium
Department of Mathematics and Astronomical Observatory of the University of Coimbra; app developed by the team of the European project SOCIENTIZE
Area
Space