New improvements of HASTA for the analysis of chomospheric solar events

Abstract

It is well known that chromospheric observations in the hydrogen alpha line give relevant information about solar flares, plages and protuberances, among other typical features of the Sun. From 1998 to 2006, the HAlpha Solar Telescope of Argentina (HASTA) has provided solar images to the scientific community with the technological resources available at that time. Starting in 2007, major improvements have been incorporated, like a new CCD camera with enhanced spatial and temporal resolution, filter replacement, the automatic focusing system, and a new flat-fielding procedure. The hardware changes also called for software improvements, and a new solar-flare classification routine was implemented. At present, the Félix Aguilar Observatory (OAFA) of the University of San Juan (UNSJ) has a permanent staff of observers which now permits continuous solar monitoring. We expect that all these advances will allow to analyze chromospheric solar activity, especially solar flares, in more detail.