OSO Missions: Solar Ultraviolet Flux Measurements 1962-1978

NASA Orbiting Solar Observatory missions 1, 3-8 collected solar ultraviolet photon flux data between 1962 and 1978. The data consist of measurements from various instruments across specific wavelength bands, recorded in tables, plots, catalogs, and digital magnetic tapes. Data sets are held at the National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) and some Principal Investigator institutes.

Use Cases

• Analyze solar ultraviolet flux variability based on photon flux measurements across specific wavelength bands.
• Study the evolution of solar instrumentation based on the description of improved data quantity with succeeding spacecraft.
• Correlate solar activity events with ultraviolet emissions based on the time coverage for each OSO mission.
• Compare spectral observations from different instruments based on the listed wavelength ranges for each experiment.

Strengths

• Data spans 16 years from 1962 to 1978, covering multiple solar cycles.
• Includes measurements from seven distinct Orbiting Solar Observatory missions (OSO 1, 3-8).
• Covers a wide range of ultraviolet wavelengths from 1 Å to 6500 Å across different experiments.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Last updated 1978-09-30 23:59:59.999000; freshness should be verified.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

NASA Orbiting Solar Observatory missions, National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC), Principal Investigator institutes.

Collection Method

Data collected by instruments on OSO spacecraft and recorded on microfiche and digital magnetic tapes.

Time Range

1962-1978