THE MOUNT WILSON OBSERVATORY S-INDEX OF THE SUN

Abstract

The most commonly used index of stellar magnetic activity is the instrumental flux scale of singly ionized calcium H & K line core emission, S , developed by the Mount Wilson Observatory (MWO) HK Project, or the derivative index . Accurately placing the Sun on the S scale is important for comparing solar activity to that of the Sun-like stars. We present previously unpublished measurements of the reflected sunlight from the Moon using the second-generation MWO HK photometer during solar cycle 23 and determine cycle minimum , amplitude , and mean . By establishing a proxy relationship with the closely related National Solar Observatory Sacramento Peak calcium K emission index, itself well correlated with the Kodaikanal Observatory plage index, we extend the MWO S time series to cover cycles 15–24 and find on average , , . Our measurements represent an improvement over previous estimates that relied on stellar measurements or solar proxies with non-overlapping time series. We find good agreement from these results with measurements by the Solar-Stellar Spectrograph at Lowell Observatory, an independently calibrated instrument, which gives us additional confidence that we have accurately placed the Sun on the S -index flux scale.