Two New Methods for Counting and Tracking the Evolution of Polar Faculae

Polar faculae are the footpoints of magnetic-field lines near the Sun’s poles that are seen as bright regions along the edges of granules. The time variation in the number of polar faculae has been shown to correlate with the strength of the polar magnetic field and to be a predictor of the subsequent solar cycle. Due to the small size and transient nature of these features, combined with different techniques and observational factors, previous counts of polar faculae differ in magnitude. Further, there were no scalable techniques to measure the statistical properties of the faculae, such as the variation of the facular lifetime with time or solar activity. Using data from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), we present two new methods for tracking faculae and measuring their properties. In the first, we calculate the pixel-by-pixel standard deviation of the HMI continuum intensity images over one day, visualizing the faculae as streaks. The lifetime of the facula is found by dividing the angular length of the streaks by the latitude-dependent rotation rate. We apply this method to the more visible pole each day for a week every six months, from September 2010 to March 2021. Combining all of the measured facular lifetimes provides a statistical distribution with a mean of 6.0 hours, a FWHM of 5.4 hours, and a skew towards longer lifetimes, with some faculae lasting up to 1 day. In the second method, we overlay images of the progressive standard deviation with the HMI magnetogram to show the close relationship between the facular candidates and the magnetic field. The results of this method allow us to distinguish between motion due to the Sun’s rotation and “proper motion” due to faculae moving across the Sun’s surface, confirming that faculae participate in convective motions at the poles. Counts of polar faculae using both methods agree with previous counts in their variation with the solar cycle and the polar magnetic field. These methods can be extended to automate the identification and measurement of other properties of polar faculae, which would allow for daily measurements of all faculae since SDO began operation in 2010.