THEMIS-C: Search Coil Magnetometer Data at 1/8s to 1/8192s Resolution

NASA's THEMIS-C satellite provides magnetic field measurements via a Search Coil Magnetometer. The dataset includes three telemetry modes: FAST SURVEY at 1/8 second resolution, PARTICLE BURST at 1/128 second resolution, and WAVE BURST at 1/8192 second resolution. The sensor and electronics were designed by LPP, Roux and Le Contel.

Use Cases

• Analyze magnetospheric wave phenomena based on WAVE BURST data with 1/8192 second time resolution.
• Study particle burst events based on PARTICLE BURST data with 1/128 second time resolution.
• Conduct long-term survey analysis based on FAST SURVEY data with 1/8 second time resolution.
• Process compressed FFT spectra based on the described Particle Burst Spectra (ffp) and Wave Burst Spectra (ffw) modes.

Strengths

• Includes data at three distinct time resolutions: 1/8s, 1/128s, and 1/8192s.
• Describes multiple telemetry modes including waveform data and compressed FFT spectra.
• Sensor and electronics design is attributed to specific institutions (LPP, Roux and Le Contel).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is provided in BIN format, which may require specialized tools for access and processing.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Measurements from the Search Coil Magnetometer instrument on the THEMIS-C satellite.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 10:44:21.754017; freshness should be verified.