VG1 PWS: Voyager 1 Plasma Wave Spectrometer Raw Waveform Data

Voyager 1 Plasma Wave Spectrometer raw full-resolution electric field waveform samples collected during the entire mission, including cruise and planetary encounter phases. The data consists of 4-bit voltage measurements acquired at 28,800 samples per second through a 40 Hz to 12 kHz bandpass filter. This dataset, provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, offers the highest temporal resolution data from the Voyager mission.

Use Cases

• Analyzing plasma wave frequency and amplitude variations based on the 28,800 samples per second time series.
• Studying solar system magnetospheric interactions based on data from Jupiter and Saturn encounter phases.
• Developing signal processing techniques for 4-bit digitized waveforms with automatic gain control.
• Creating comparative spectrograms for graphical data search using the included browse dataset.

Strengths

• Provides the highest temporal resolution data from the Voyager mission.
• Covers the entire mission timeline, including cruise and planetary encounters.
• Data acquisition rate of 28,800 samples per second through a defined 40 Hz to 12 kHz bandpass filter.

Limitations

• No direct, absolute calibration as automatic gain control information is not returned to ground.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Acquired from the Voyager 1 Plasma Wave Subsystem waveform receiver.

Time Range

Entire Voyager 1 mission timeline.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 05:20:31.673037; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Trajectory from Jupiter to Saturn and into interstellar space.