STEREO-A: 1-hour Averaged Solar Wind Alpha Particle Parameters

STEREO-A spacecraft data provides 1-hour averaged measurements of solar wind alpha particle flow speed, density, thermal speed, alpha to proton density ratio, and proton-alpha flow speed difference. The dataset is produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and was last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Model solar wind propagation based on alpha particle flow speed and thermal speed.
• Analyze plasma composition ratios based on the alpha to proton density ratio.
• Study inter-species dynamics in the solar wind based on the proton-alpha flow speed difference.

Strengths

• Data is averaged to a 1-hour resolution, providing a stable temporal baseline.
• Includes multiple key plasma parameters: flow speed, density, thermal speed, and ratios.
• Produced by the authoritative National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 11:17:55.659466; freshness should be verified.