SDO/HMI Vector Magnetic Field Derived from Full-Disk Filtergrams

The vector magnetic field is derived from full-disk filtergrams collected in a 135-second sequence, with observations after 13 April 2016 using a 90-second cadence. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration obtains observations in polarized light across a spectral line, calibrates and registers filtergrams to account for solar rotation, and combines them to provide Stokes polarization parameters. These parameters are used to determine magnetic and plasma parameters via the VFISV Milne-Eddington inversion code, with a final disambiguation step to infer the azimuthal direction of the transverse field.

Use Cases

• Modeling solar magnetic field evolution based on Stokes polarization parameters
• Analyzing plasma dynamics using parameters derived from Milne-Eddington inversion
• Studying solar rotation effects on magnetic field measurements from calibrated filtergrams
• Disambiguating the azimuthal direction of the transverse magnetic field

Strengths

• Data originates from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• Observations are derived from a specific 135-second sequence of filtergrams
• Includes a disambiguation step for the transverse field azimuth

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• File formats are BIN and HTML, which may require specialized tools for analysis

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Derived from full-disk filtergrams collected by the SDO/HMI instrument in polarized light across a spectral line.

Time Range

Observations after 13 April 2016, with a 90-second cadence.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 11:35:44.338453; freshness should be verified

Geography

Full-disk solar observations.