Vega 1 Solar Wind Plasma Parameters at 20-Minute Resolution

20-minute-resolution solar wind plasma parameters from the Soviet Vega 1 mission's interplanetary cruise to Comet Halley. Proton flow speeds, densities, and temperatures were derived by fitting energy spectra to convecting Maxwellian models, with parameters calculated using both linear and logarithmic fitting methods. The data were collected by NASA and have coverage gaps between April 1985 and August 1986.

Use Cases

• Model solar wind behavior near Comet Halley based on proton flow speed and density data
• Compare fitting methodologies for plasma spectra based on the 'linear' and 'log' parameter sets
• Analyze temporal variability of solar wind temperature during the Vega 1 cruise phase
• Study the impact of data gaps on time-series analysis of interplanetary plasma

Strengths

• Data resolution is explicitly 20 minutes
• Provides two distinct parameter sets ('linear' and 'log') derived from different fitting methods
• Includes ancillary data on the number of energy intervals used in the determinations

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download
• Data have long gaps between the first and last days of coverage, as listed in the description
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Parameters determined by fitting counts-vs-energy data from a sunward-looking electrostatic analyzer to a convecting Maxwellian.

Time Range

Coverage spans from April 1985 to August 1986, with specific gaps listed.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 05:23:10.029479; freshness should be verified