A comparison of solar irradiances measured by SBUV, SME, and rockets

Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SBUV) measurements of the solar irradiance between 170 and 320 nm have been compared with rocket and Solar Mesosphere Explorer (SME) ultraviolet spectrometer measurements. The SBUV and SME data were those available from the National Space Sciences Data Center (NSSDC). The published rocket measurements are sensitive enough to detect substantial systematic changes with time in other instruments and to check absolute calibration but not sufficiently sensitive to validate claims of changes in the solar ultraviolet irradiance longer than 170 nm. The SBUV irradiances show a systematic decrease with time not seen in the rocket measurements; a correction for this decrease, based on changes between the instrument properties measured in 1980–1981 and those in 1984, is introduced. Ratios of spectra in early 1982 to those in mid‐1984, calculated using the SME and SBUV solar irradiances, have been compared with each other and with those predicted from Mg 280‐nm variations. The scatter and overall structure in the SME spectra from the NSSDC is 3–5%, of the order of or larger than most of the changes predicted by the Mg index. The corrected SBUV ratio and the Mg index prediction for it agree to within 1%. Such agreement supports a common origin for variations between solar maximum and minimum and those for individual rotations: the degree to which active regions cover the visible hemisphere of the Sun.