Eric Strach: four decades of detailed synoptic solar observations (1969-2008)

TL;DR

This paper documents four decades of detailed solar observations by Eric Strach, emphasizing their value for space weather and climate studies, including sunspot and prominence records.

Contribution

It presents a comprehensive long-term solar observation dataset collected by Strach, highlighting its significance for solar physics research.

Findings

Four decades of systematic solar observations documented.

Sunspot group number series derived from Strach's data.

Long-term prominence records recorded by Strach.

Abstract

Eric H. Strach (1914-2011) studied medicine at University of Prague and graduated in 1938. Strach dedicated a great part of his life to astronomy becoming a consistent and meticulous observer. He joined the Liverpool Astronomical Association and British Astronomical Association during the 1960s and obtained two recognitions as proof of his great work in solar physics: the BAA's Merlin Medal and Gift in 1999 and Walter Goodacre Medal and Gift, ten years later. Strach recorded four decades (1969-2008) of systematic solar records in his observation notebooks although he started his observations from the late 1950s. In this work, we document the valuable effort made by Strach in getting four decades of solar records and the importance of this kind of long observation series for studies of space weather and climate. We present the sunspot group number series according to Strach's data and a long observation series of prominences recorded by Strach.