Voyager 1 Plasma Wave Spectrometer: Full Resolution Electric Field Data from 1977 Onward

Electric field spectrum analyzer data from the Voyager 1 Plasma Wave Subsystem spanning the entire mission from launch in 1977 to beyond 100 AU, with data after 2013-12-31 added subsequently. The dataset includes observations from cruise phases and planetary encounters at Jupiter and Saturn. It was produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Use Cases

• Analyze plasma wave intensity across 16 logarithmically spaced frequency channels from 10 Hz to 56.2 kHz.
• Study the evolution of electric field phenomena during Voyager 1's journey from Earth to beyond 130 AU.
• Investigate key heliospheric events like radio events and shock crossings based on the provided mission timeline.
• Compare plasma wave characteristics during planetary encounters (Jupiter and Saturn) versus cruise phases.

Strengths

• Covers the entire Voyager 1 mission from 1977 launch, providing a continuous long-term record.
• Includes data from specific key events like planetary bow shock crossings and major heliospheric radio events.
• Provides full resolution edited data at 0.0172-second intervals for high temporal detail.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and file formats are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Collected by the Plasma Wave Subsystem (PWS) instrument on the Voyager 1 spacecraft.

Time Range

1977-09 05 (Launch) to beyond 2015-01-01 (130 AU), with data after 2013-12-31 added later.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 07:52:22.039837; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Interplanetary space from Earth to beyond 130 Astronomical Units (AU), including Jupiter and Saturn encounters.