IMP 8 CPME/EPE: Energetic Particle, Magnetic Field, and Plasma Measurements

NASA's IMP 8 Charged Particle Measurement Experiment (CPME) and Energetic Particle Experiment (EPE) data set contains 20.48-second resolution measurements of protons, alpha particles, electrons, and heavier ions across multiple energy channels. The data set merges particle counts with IMP 8 magnetic field components and plasma parameters like flow velocity, density, and temperature from the MIT Faraday Cup. Data are available as daily gzipped ASCII files.

Use Cases

• Correlating solar wind plasma parameters with energetic particle fluxes based on the merged magnetic field and plasma data.
• Analyzing pitch-angle distributions of low-energy protons and electrons based on the 8 spin-sector count rates.
• Studying the composition and energy spectra of solar energetic particles based on the multi-channel proton, alpha, and Z>=3 particle measurements.
• Modeling radiation belt dynamics using the multi-species, multi-energy electron and proton data.

Strengths

• Provides merged data from three instrument types (particle, magnetic field, plasma), facilitating multi-parameter analysis.
• Includes detailed particle data with spin-sector resolution for certain species and energies, enabling anisotropy studies.
• Offers data at multiple time resolutions (10.24s and 20.48s) for specific particle channels.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The description notes better sources exist for users desiring only magnetic field or plasma data.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Measurements from the IMP 8 satellite's Charged Particle Measurement Experiment (CPME), Energetic Particle Experiment (EPE), magnetometer, and MIT Faraday Cup plasma instrument.

Time Range

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Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 06:49:10.224853; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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