Earth Radiation Budget Satellite Total Solar Irradiance Data

Satellite measurements of Total Solar Irradiance (TSI) collected by the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) aboard the ERBS spacecraft. The dataset provides native-format data from the first dedicated NASA science spacecraft launched by the Space Shuttle in October 1984. Data collection is complete, with processing managed by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the NASA Langley Research Center.

Use Cases

• Analyzing long-term variations in solar energy reaching Earth using TSI measurements.
• Calculating monthly averages of shortwave radiation parameters for climate modeling.
• Studying the Earth's radiation budget at regional to global scales with satellite-derived data.
• Correlating solar irradiance data with other atmospheric measurements from the SAGE II instrument on the same platform.

Strengths

• Data originates from a dedicated NASA science mission, the first launched by the Space Shuttle.
• Collection employed a three-spacecraft system for improved geographic and temporal sampling.
• Dataset is hosted on multiple authoritative NASA platforms, indicating established importance.

Limitations

• Specific column names, row counts, and file sizes are not provided by any source.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date, reporting both 2003-03-12 and 2026-03-13.
• Data is in native format, which may require specialized knowledge for processing.

Provenance

Source

NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC).

Collection Method

Instruments aboard the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS), with telemetry processed at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Time Range

Mission launched in October 1984; specific end date not provided.

Freshness

2026-03-13 02:58:56.343737

Geography

Global coverage from satellite orbit.