Spatial and Temporal Identification of Extreme Ultraviolet Flares in Solar Active Regions

Abstract

An automatic method developed to perform flare-finding on Level 1 extreme ultraviolet (EUV) data from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) is described in detail. The data are spatially binned, preprocessed, and compared against a Gaussian white noise background. The methods of Berghmans and Clette (1998) provide the basis for the automated detection algorithm, and pertinent adjustments are made to address the high spatial resolution provided by AIA. Results for an observation of NOAA active region 12712 from 16:00-16:45 UTC on 2018/05/29 are presented. Future work may include investigation of the link between EUV active regions and periodicities found in various observables, including radio emissions and magnetic field. Accurate determination of the flare-frequency distribution for small flares is also a promising application of this method.