Hemispheric sunspot numbers from the astronomical observatory of the University of Valencia (1940 – 1956)

Abstract

In this work, we present hemispheric sunspot number counts made in the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Valencia for the period 1940 – 1956. We found these data in a secondary source (the bulletins of the Madrid Astronomical Observatory). We digitized the hemispheric sunspot number and group number recorded by the observers. Unfortunately, the sunspot positions or areas were not published in this secondary source. A machine-readable version of the dataset is available as supplementary material. We compare the Valencia hemispheric series with others from other observatories, such as the Madrid Astronomical Observatory, finding similar hemispheric behaviors. We also computed the asymmetry index from the hemispheric data. We found that the northern hemisphere was predominant in our study period (declining phase of Solar Cycle 17, Solar Cycle 18, and rising phase of Solar Cycle 19), and the southern hemisphere was leading. These results agree with those obtained in previous studies. Therefore, the Valencia hemispheric records are one more piece of information to know the behavior of the northern and southern hemispheres during the 20th century.