Ulysses COSPIN-HET: Full-Resolution Proton Counts by Spin Sector, 128-Second Data

NASA's Ulysses spacecraft COSPIN-HET instrument recorded high-energy proton counts in eight spin sectors. The data consists of readout-by-readout listings of counts accumulated in each 45-degree sector, with accumulation times varying cyclically around an average of 128 seconds. This dataset provides full-resolution proton flux measurements primarily in the 34-92 MeV energy range.

Use Cases

• Modeling solar proton anisotropy based on eight-sector directional counting rates.
• Analyzing temporal variations in proton flux linked to the spacecraft's 5 rpm spin rate and telemetry cycle.
• Correlating high-energy particle events with solar activity using time-stamped fractional year data.
• Studying the directional structure of particle fluxes relative to the Sun pulse reference point.

Strengths

• Data provides directional resolution with counts partitioned into eight 45-degree spin sectors.
• Time precision to milliseconds and fractional year with 12 decimal places for precise event timing.
• Proton energy response is specified for the approximate range of 34-92 MeV.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Collected by the COSPIN High Energy Telescope (HET) aboard the Ulysses spacecraft.

Time Range

Coverage includes years from at least 1990 (YYY=090) to 2002 (YYY=102) based on file naming convention.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 05:39:05.895530; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Data collected in space from the Ulysses spacecraft's orbit, with the spin plane normal to the Earth-pointing spin axis.