GO A PWS REFORMATTED: Electric and Magnetic Wave Spectra Near Asteroid Ida

NASA's Galileo spacecraft collected electric and magnetic wave spectra during a ~15-minute period near closest approach to asteroid Ida. The dataset includes full-resolution spectra from the High Frequency Receiver, Sweep Frequency Receiver, and Spectrum Analyzer instruments, with temporal resolutions of 18.67 and 37.33 seconds. Software and calibration tables allow conversion of uncalibrated data numbers to units like electric field spectral density (V**2/m**2/Hz) and magnetic field spectral density (nT**2/Hz).

Use Cases

• Analyze plasma wave activity near an asteroid based on electric and magnetic field spectral data.
• Study temporal variations in wave spectra based on instrument cycling between electric and magnetic antennas.
• Convert raw instrument readings to calibrated physical units based on provided software and calibration tables.
• Compare spectral density measurements from different receivers (High Frequency, Sweep Frequency, Spectrum Analyzer).

Strengths

• Includes full-resolution spectra from a ~15-minute contiguous observation period.
• Provides software and calibration tables for converting data to multiple calibrated units.
• Specifies temporal resolutions for different instruments (e.g., 18.67 seconds for High Frequency Receiver).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect temporal bias inherent to the specific observation window.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Observations from the Galileo spacecraft's Plasma Wave Subsystem (PWS) instruments.

Time Range

During the Galileo spacecraft's encounter with asteroid Ida.