Total Solar Irradiance Daily Averages from ISS-Mounted TSIS-1
Updated 3mo ago
14filesBIN
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Description
24-hour average total solar irradiance measurements from the TSIS-1 TIM instrument, mounted on the International Space Station since December 2017. The instrument provides long-term repeatability with estimated uncertainties below 0.014 W/m^2 per year. Data is provided in a single, daily-appended ASCII text file containing columns for date, Julian day, wavelength ranges, irradiance value, uncertainty, and quality flags.
Use Cases
Analyze long-term solar output trends using the irradiance value and date columns to detect solar cycle variations.
Assess measurement stability by tracking the irradiance uncertainty column over the mission's time range.
Model solar energy input to Earth's climate system using the wavelength range and irradiance value data.
Validate instrument performance by examining the data quality and instrument mode columns for operational anomalies.
Strengths
High-precision instrument with long-term repeatability uncertainty estimated at less than 0.014 W/m^2 per year.
Data is updated daily, with new measurements appended to a single, continuously growing file.
Provides irradiance values corrected to a mean solar distance of 1 Astronomical Unit for consistent analysis.
Limitations
Current accuracy is reported as 0.48 W/m^2, which is expected to improve but may affect absolute value analyses.
Data format is described as tabular ASCII text, which may require parsing for direct use in some analytical tools.
The description does not specify the total number of rows or the exact temporal coverage start date.
Provenance
Source
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) via the TSIS-1 mission.
Collection Method
Measurements from the Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM) instrument on the International Space Station, averaged over 24-hour periods.
Time Range
Mission began with instrument mounting on December 30, 2017; data collection is ongoing.
Freshness
Updated daily; last metadata update was March 12, 2026.
Geography
Measurements taken from the International Space Station's orbit; irradiance values are reported for the Sun.
License is listed as 'other-license-specified'; users must review the specific terms before use. Data files are available in multiple formats including BIN and ISO, which may require specific software to read.