Voyager 1 Plasma Data with RTN Velocity Components

High-resolution plasma data from the Voyager 1 spacecraft's Faraday-cup detectors, measuring ion and electron properties. The data includes velocity, density, and pressure parameters obtained by fitting a convected isotropic Maxwellian distribution, with sampling times ranging from 12 to 192 seconds. The dataset is provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and was last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling solar wind supersonic flow based on the three sequential energy scans with varying (delta E)/E percentages.
• Analyzing plasma ion macroscopic properties based on velocity, density, and pressure measurements from the earth-pointing detector.
• Studying electron energy distributions based on side-looking cup measurements from 5 eV to 1 keV.
• Converting velocity vectors for analysis based on the RTN (Radial-Tangential-Normal) coordinate system described.

Strengths

• High-resolution measurements with one sigma errors typically less than 0.5% in speed and VR.
• Sampling times range from 12 to 192 seconds, with more frequent sampling early in the mission.
• Parameters derived from fitting a convected isotropic Maxwellian distribution to the data.

Limitations

• Row count, file formats, and column-level documentation are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Error for VT and VN components varies greatly, as stated in the description.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Measurements from two Faraday-cup detectors on the Voyager 1 spacecraft.

Time Range

Early mission period onward, with more frequent sampling early on.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 05:16:57.436274; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Outer heliosphere along Voyager 1's trajectory.