STEREO-A PLASTIC: Helium Ion Phase Space Densities in the Solar Wind

Daily measurements of Helium ion (He+) phase space densities from the STEREO-A spacecraft's PLASTIC instrument. The data is binned by velocity relative to the solar wind speed (V/Vsw) and is processed to Level 3. The dataset is provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and was last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling the acceleration and transport of suprathermal ions based on phase space density distributions.
• Studying the composition and dynamics of the solar wind based on Helium ion measurements.
• Correlating solar wind conditions with energetic particle events based on binned velocity data.
• Validating simulations of heliospheric plasma based on in-situ spacecraft observations.

Strengths

• Data originates from the NASA STEREO-A mission, a recognized scientific spacecraft.
• Data is processed to Level 3, suggesting a calibrated and validated product.
• Last updated in March 2026, indicating potential ongoing curation.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

In-situ measurements from the STEREO-A spacecraft's PLASTIC instrument.

Time Range

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Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 04:45:44.611167

Geography

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