Liu, S., Chen, J., Wen, Z. et al. (5 more authors) (2026) PyTransHelio: A Python tool for analyzing magnetic flux-weighted centroids of active regions and trans-equatorial loop footpoints in full-disk solar photospheric magnetograms. Astronomical Techniques and Instruments, 3. pp. 1-12. ISSN: 2097-3675
Abstract
This paper introduces PyTransHelio, a Python-based graphical interface tool designed for solar physics research, which automates the calculation of magnetic flux-weighted centroid coordinates of active regions in full-disk magnetograms and supports the identification and analysis of footpoints in trans-equatorial loops. The tool addresses the operational complexity and lack of dedicated graphical user environments in traditional Interactive Data language/SolarSoftWare workflows by integrating modules for magnetogram header parsing, three-coordinate system conversions (pixel/Stonyhurst/Carrington coordinates), automatic magnetic pole detection, and footpoint distance calculation, enabling end-to-end automation. Users can swiftly obtain active region centroid positions and trans-equatorial loop footpoint spacings through an intuitive three-step workflow: “Load → Click → Results.” Its modular architecture balances flexibility and extensibility as an open-source tool, significantly lowering the barrier to solar photospheric magnetogram analysis.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
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| Authors/Creators: |
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| Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2026 Editorial Office of Astronomical Techniques and Instruments, Yunnan Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences. This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) |
| Keywords: | Active regions; Trans-equatorial loops; Full-disk magnetograms; Open-source tool; Graphical user interface |
| Dates: |
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| Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
| Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences |
| Funding Information: | Funder Grant number ROYAL SOCIETY UNSPECIFIED |
| Date Deposited: | 05 Feb 2026 13:23 |
| Last Modified: | 05 Feb 2026 13:23 |
| Status: | Published |
| Publisher: | China Science Publishing & Media Ltd. |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Identification Number: | 10.3724/ati2025068 |
| Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:237297 |
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