Voyager 1 LECP: 48-Second Charged Particle Measurements Near Jupiter

Voyager 1's Low Energy Charged Particle experiment recorded intensities of electrons and ions during its close encounter with Jupiter. The dataset includes nearly 100 instrument channels, providing 48-second rate and flux measurements for particles like protons, alpha particles, and nuclei. NASA produced this calibrated data, which was last updated on March 13, 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling Jupiter's magnetospheric dynamics based on in-situ charged particle flux data.
• Analyzing energy spectra of ions and electrons based on the nearly 100 LECP channel measurements.
• Studying the spatial distribution of particles during a planetary encounter based on the 48-second step period angular scanning.

Strengths

• Data is globally calibrated to the extent possible, as stated in the description.
• Includes measurements from nearly 100 distinct Low Energy Charged Particle (LECP) instrument channels.
• Provides high-temporal-resolution 48-second measurements during the critical near-encounter phase.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Collected in-situ by the Low Energy Charged Particle (LECP) experiment on the Voyager 1 spacecraft.

Time Range

During Voyager 1's very close vicinity flyby of Jupiter.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03 13 06:19:16.432844; freshness should be verified.

Geography

The vicinity of the planet Jupiter.