THEMIS-E: Electron and Ion Energy Flux Spectrograms from the Solid State Telescope

The Solid State Telescope (SST) on the THEMIS-E spacecraft measures the intensity of superthermal electrons and ions. Two sensor units with opposing pairs sweep up to 92% of the sky, measuring particles primarily between 30-300 keV for ions and 30-100 keV for electrons. Data includes full distributions over 128 angles and 16 energy bins, reduced distributions over 6 angles, and burst mode data over 64 angles.

Use Cases

• Modeling magnetospheric particle dynamics based on electron and ion flux measurements.
• Analyzing particle anisotropy based on angular distributions measured over 128 angles.
• Studying plasma sheet edge phenomena based on data from sensors with a mechanical attenuator to avoid oversaturation.
• Investigating magnetic contamination effects based on quadrapole fields produced by electron broom magnets.

Strengths

• Sensors cover up to 92% of the sky, providing broad angular coverage.
• Full distribution data is measured over 128 angles and 16 energy bins.
• Mechanical attenuator increases dynamical range to avoid oversaturation near the plasma sheet edge.

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

Measured by the Solid State Telescope (SST) instrument on the THEMIS-E spacecraft.