TABLE OF CHROMOSPHERIC FLARES: EXPLANATIONS Each line reports a flare, according to the following description of the columns. The Year, the Month and the Day in the Month are in the first three columns. BEG The time of a flare beginning is accompanied by : - a "*" sign if the beginning was reported by a single observer. - a "+" or ">" sign followed by one digit if the beginning was reported by several observers. In this case, as an example 13 24+5 means: a beginning reported between 13 24 and 13 24+5 i.e. 13 29. Likewise 13 24 >9 means that the latest time reported is more than 9 minutes after 13 24. Otherwise the reported time concerns the beginning of a survey of a flare already in progress. MAX If a maximum is reported by several observers, its time is followed by a "+" or ">" sign and one digit with the same meaning as for a beginning. END a time followed by a "*" shows that the observer is supposed to have reported the end of the flare; if there are several such reports, the time "*" is the average of the significant times. A time without "*" is related to a patrol break of an event still in progress. LAT and LON Average of heliographic coordinates. ROT and AR Carrington rotation and number of an active region identified at Meudon (see Table III on the paper version or on QBSA web site). CLASS The importance takes into account both the area and the intensity according to the table below. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Corrected Area Imp. Area Intensity Imp. Intensity (square degrees) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- < 2.1 S Faint F 2.1 - 5.1 1 Normal N 5.2 - 12.4 2 Brilliant B 12.5 - 24.7 3 > 24.7 4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If the reports do not agree, the area importance will be a question mark "?" and, in the columns "Observatories", the items of information will be shown (see OBSERVATORIES). AREAS (AR1 and AR2) They show at first the apparent area in millionths of solar disk, then the corrected area in heliographic square degrees. The corrected area is not shown if the length of the arc from the flare to the center of the disk exceeds 65°. No area is reported if the data scattering is larger than 2 or if the flare was reported by a single observer. COMMENT. The remarks follow a code described at the bottom of this table. OBSERVATORIES Their name is followed by a "*" if the flare has been entirely seen and by a "blank" in the opposite case. In addition a letter shows the observing method: C Complete or almost complete cinematographic sequence. P Only one or few photographs. V Complete or almost complete visual sequence. S Fragmentary visual report. A question mark "?" in the "class" column is always the result of a questionable report of importance 1 or more. Very different conditions could occur: - Reported importances show a too large scattering: all the separate importances are reported in this column. - Disagreement on the classification of the event: an event reported as it flare by one observer is differently identified by another one. - Among several operating observers, only one reports the event. The cinematographic observers have been requested to give a second look to their film. If the event is not confirmed (referred as NO), all the relevant observatories are quoted, their names being followed by a "2" if the second look is without any result, by a "1" if the observer does not answer. The ordering number attributed to each flare in a Quarter is shown in the last column. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ COMMENTS A = Eruptive prominence whose base is less than 90° from central meridian. B = Probably the end of a more important flare. C = Invisible 10 minutes before. D = Brilliant point. E = Two or more brilliant points. F = Several eruptive centers G = No visible spot in the neighborhood. H = Flare accompanied by a high speed dark filament. I = Active region very extended. J = Distinct variations of plage intensity before or after the flare. K = Several intensity maxima. L = Existing filaments show signs of sudden activity. M = White-light flare. N = Continuous spectrum shows effects of polarization. O = Observations have been made in the Calcium II lines H or. K. P = Flare shows Helium D3 in emission. R = Marked asymmetry in Halpha line suggests ejection of high velocity material. S = Brightness follows disappearance of filament (same position). T = Region active all day. U = Two bright branches, parallel (II) or converging (Y). V = Occurrence of an explosive phase: important and abrupt expansion in about a minute with or without important intensity increase. W = Great increase in area after time of maximum intensity. X = Unusually wide Halpha line. Y = System of loop-type prominence. Z = Major sunspot umbra covered by flare. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The solar department of Paris-Meudon Observatory has been in charge of the synthesis of the Halpha flare observations from 1945 to 1989. Thanks to the scientists and technicians having contributed to this activity. Since 1945, the work has been published in the Quaterly Bulletin on Solar Activity on the behalf of UAI, with financial support of UNESCO. The QBSA has been edited in Switzerland until 1976 and then in Japan. During the last decades, the data were collected from the different observatories by the World Data Center A for Solar-Terrestrial Physics, located in Boulder. The following observatories are acknowledged for their contribution to the Halpha flare observations between 1972 and 1989: Abatsumani, Arcetri, Athens, Bern, Big Bear, Boulder, Bucarest, Canary Islands, Capetown, Capri (Saltsjöbaden station), Capri (Fraunhofer station), Catania, Crimea, Culgoora, Georgina, Haute Provence, Herstmonceux, Holloman, Huancayo, Hurbanovo, Istanbul, Kandilli, Kanzelhöhe, Kharkov, Kiev, Kodaikanal, Learmonth, Locarno, Lockheed Solar Obs., Lvov, Manilla, McMath, Meudon, Mitaka, Monte Mario, Ondrejov, Palehua, Peking, Purple Mountain, Ramey, Siberia, San Vito, Tachkent, Teheran, Tel Aviv, Upice, Voroshilov, Wendelstein, Yunnan, Zürich. Pierre Lantos, Meudon, Feb 2006.