STEREO-A PLASTIC: Real-Time Solar Plasma and Ion Composition Beacon Data

PLASTIC beacon data provides plasma characteristics of protons, alpha particles, and heavy ions from the STEREO-A spacecraft. The data includes key diagnostic measurements of mass and charge state composition to distinguish coronal mass ejection plasma from ambient coronal plasma. This real-time estimated data is processed for operational use by NASA and was last updated on March 13, 2026.

Use Cases

• Monitor real-time solar plasma characteristics based on proton and alpha particle measurements
• Distinguish coronal mass ejection plasma from ambient plasma based on mass and charge state composition diagnostics
• Analyze heavy ion composition in the solar wind based on the provided ion characteristics

Strengths

• Provides key diagnostic measurements for mass and charge state composition of heavy ions
• Distinguishes coronal mass ejection plasma from ambient coronal plasma
• Data is processed for real-time operational use

Limitations

• Data is described as 'beacon' data and has not been validated for publication purposes
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Data collected by the PLASTIC instrument on the STEREO-A spacecraft.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 11:15:23.336782