The Standardisation and Sequencing of Solar Eclipse Images for the Eclipse Megamovie Project

Abstract

We present a new tool, the Solar Eclipse Image Standardisation and Sequencing (SEISS), developed to process multi-source total solar eclipse images by adjusting them to the same standard of size, resolution, and orientation. Furthermore, by analysing the eclipse images we can determine the relative time between the observations and order them to create a movie of the observed total solar eclipse sequence. We successfully processed images taken at the 14 November 2012 total solar eclipse that occurred in Queensland, Australia, and created a short eclipse proto-movie. The SEISS tool was developed for the Eclipse Megamovie Project (EMP: https://www.eclipsemegamovie.org), with the goal of processing thousands of images taken by the public during solar eclipse events. EMP is a collaboration among multiple institutes aiming to engage and advance the public interest in solar eclipses and the science of the Sun-Earth connection.