Abstract
SOLAR ACTIVITY MONITORING Here we review the current status of autonomous solar monitoring techniques of relevance to space weather. The application of these techniques to up-coming missions are discussed. The techniques used to monitor solar activity depend on many factors, such as time- or size-scale, or region of interest. In the photosphere, sunspots are visible as well-defined, dark features, which in many cases can be identified and extracted using standard image processing techniques, such as intensity thresholding. CMEs, on the other hand, require more advanced methods, primarily due to their high speed, diffuse structure and complex morphology. The following chapter therefore considers the methods employed to analyse and monitor the distinct structures visible in the photosphere, chromosphere and corona.