Voyager 1 Plasma Spectrometer High-Resolution Density and Velocity Data

High-resolution plasma data from the Voyager 1 spacecraft's Plasma Spectrometer instrument. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration produced this dataset by fitting convected isotropic Maxwellian distributions to the raw measurements. Sampling times range from 12 to 192 seconds, with more frequent sampling early in the mission.

Use Cases

• Modeling solar wind propagation based on plasma density and thermal speed parameters.
• Analyzing plasma velocity vector changes in the RTN coordinate system over the mission timeline.
• Studying the reliability and error margins of tangential (V_t) and normal (V_n) velocity components, especially post-1989.

Strengths

• Data includes one-sigma error estimates, typically less than 0.5% for speed and radial velocity (VR).
• Velocity components are provided in the specific RTN (Radial-Tangential-Normal) coordinate system.
• Sampling times range from 12 to 192 seconds, offering high temporal resolution for a deep space mission.

Limitations

• The V_t and V_n velocity parameters are described as often not reliable after 1989.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Parameters obtained by fitting a convected isotropic Maxwellian distribution to instrument data.

Time Range

Covers the Voyager 1 mission timeline, with sampling more frequent early in the mission.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03 13 08:14:56.864351; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Data collected by the Voyager 1 spacecraft during its journey through the solar system and beyond.