The rotation periods of cool stars: Measurements, uses, connections and prospects
23rd - 26th September 2019
Talk
The solar differential rotation as measured from historical sunspot data
Rainer Arlt, Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam
Lightcurves of spotted stars can reveal stellar differential rotation. Sunspots do so for the Sun. Since sunspots have been observed in detail for more than 400 years, we can obtain estimates of the solar differential rotation over time. A few historical sunspot records as well as some attempts to determine the rotation profile are reviewed in this talk.