New information on solar activity, 1779-1818, from Sir William Herschel's unpublished notebooks

Abstract

Herschel's observations are analyzed in order to determine the level of solar activity for solar cycle 5. It is concluded that solar cycle 5 may have peaked as early as 1801 based upon the average number of groups with a probable secondary maximum in 1804. Depending on the technique adopted, the peak for solar cycle 5 occurred sometime between 1801 and 1804, rather than 1805.2, as commonly assumed. Instead of a solar cycle of 17 yrs, a cycle length of 14 yrs is found. It is also found that the peak yearly mean sunspot number is only about 38 rather than 45, as deduced by Wolf (1855). A technique for making early solar observations homogeneous with modern sunspot observations is proposed.