Persistence Mapping for Solar Imagery

Persistence Mapping is a tool for tracking the evolution of solar prominences. When a pixel reaches a maximum value, that value "persists" into subsequent frames until it is exceeded, resulting in a final image which traces out the full motion of the prominence.

Files

persistence.py Generates a persistence map, in the form of a movie and the final image. Map will be in the colormap associated with the data.

time_convolution.py Generates a persistence map, but where each pixel is colored according to the time it reaches its maximum value. This method is called Time Convolution Mapping and is described by Mays et al. (2015).

Required Selections

The following selections will need to be set manually, by editing the top section of the file.

Required for both files:

• folder: enter the path to the data here
• date: enter the date of the event, in the format 'YYYYMMDD'
• wavelength: for colormap selection and file naming
• x and y limits: the limits (in pixels) to which the data will be cropped
• scaling minimum and maximum values: all data between these values will be scaled according to the bytscl procedure. Adjustment of these values may be necessary to achieve optimal results.

Required for only persistence.py:

• telescope & instrument: this will enable correct selection of colormap

Required for only time_convolution.py:

• colormap: recommended perceptually uniform colormaps include viridis, plasma, andmagma. jet is a commonly used rainbow map.