STEREO-A PLASTIC: Helium Ion Phase Space Densities and Proton Plasma Moments

STEREO-A PLASTIC provides 1-hour averages of helium ion phase space densities across 51 normalized velocity ranges relative to solar wind speed. The data set includes proton plasma moments and is delivered to the public domain on a regular basis by NASA. Efforts are made to include the latest calibration, but revisions are expected.

Use Cases

• Modeling solar wind particle acceleration based on normalized velocity phase space densities
• Analyzing helium ion populations relative to proton bulk speed
• Studying solar wind composition and dynamics using spacecraft-frame measurements

Strengths

• Data includes 51 velocity ranges for detailed phase space density profiles
• Provides 1-hour averaged data for temporal analysis
• Includes proton plasma moments alongside helium ion data

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Calibration and background determinations are expected to undergo revision

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Likely collected by the STEREO-A spacecraft PLASTIC instrument.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 11:13:27.518588; freshness should be verified