Voyager 1 PWS: Hourly Plasma Wave Averages and Peaks

Hourly averages and peaks of calibrated electric field spectrum analyzer data from the Voyager 1 Plasma Wave Subsystem (PWS) instrument. The plasma parameters are derived by fitting a convected isotropic Maxwellian distribution to the data, with one-sigma errors typically less than 0.5% in speed and VR, and less than 5% for density and thermal speed. The dataset is provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and was last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling heliospheric plasma parameters based on calibrated electric field spectra.
• Analyzing plasma wave intensity trends over time based on hourly averages and peaks.
• Studying solar wind velocity components in the RTN coordinate system mentioned in the description.
• Investigating the evolution of plasma properties throughout the Voyager 1 mission timeline.

Strengths

• Data is calibrated and includes detailed error estimates, with one-sigma errors typically less than 0.5% for speed and VR.
• Velocity components are provided in the standardized RTN (Radial-Tangential-Normal) coordinate system for solar studies.
• Provenance is authoritative, sourced directly from NASA's Voyager 1 mission.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale analysis.
• Primary file formats are BIN and HTML, which may require specialized tools for access and processing.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

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

Time Range

Covers the Voyager 1 mission timeline, with sampling times ranging from 12 to 192 seconds and more frequent sampling early in the mission.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 05:15:18.168660; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Data collected throughout Voyager 1's trajectory in the solar system and beyond.