ACE SWEPAM: Solar Wind Ion Parameters Averaged Over 64 Seconds

Level 2 data from the ACE spacecraft's SWEPAM instrument provides 64-second averages of solar wind ion parameters. Parameters include proton density, temperature, flow speed, velocity vectors in multiple coordinate systems, and the alpha to proton density ratio. The data are produced by NASA and are accessible via FTP in HDF, CDF, and ASCII formats.

Use Cases

• Modeling solar wind propagation based on proton flow speed and velocity vectors
• Analyzing plasma composition based on the alpha to proton density ratio
• Correlating spacecraft position with plasma conditions based on included ACE position vectors
• Studying solar wind temperature variations based on the radial temperature component

Strengths

• Data includes velocity vectors in GSE, GSM, and RTN coordinate systems
• Provides multiple access formats including HDF, CDF, and ASCII
• Includes spacecraft position vectors alongside plasma parameters

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Measured by the Solar Wind Electron Proton Alpha Monitor (SWEPAM) instrument on the ACE spacecraft.