ISEE-3: Merged Magnetic Field and Solar Wind Plasma Data, 1978-1982

NASA's ISEE-3 satellite collected merged magnetic field and plasma data during its L1 orbit phase. The dataset contains 2-minute resolution ASCII files from 1978 to 1982, with plasma data available until February 19, 1980. It is provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Use Cases

• Modeling solar wind propagation based on plasma parameters.
• Analyzing correlations between magnetic field strength and plasma density.
• Studying temporal dynamics in the near-Earth solar environment based on 2-minute resolution data.
• Validating heliospheric models using in-situ satellite measurements.

Strengths

• Data spans a multi-year period from 1978 to 1982.
• Provides merged measurements from two instruments (MAG and SWP).
• Offers a consistent 2-minute temporal resolution.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Plasma data coverage ends in February 1980, while magnetic field data continues to 1982.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Collected by the ISEE-3 satellite's Vector Helium Magnetometer (MAG) and Solar Wind Plasma (SWP) instruments.

Time Range

1978 to 1982 (plasma data to 1980-02 -19)

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 06:19:30.177928; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Space, specifically the L1 Lagrange point orbit region.