Voyager 1 Saturn Charged Particle Measurements, 15-Minute Intervals

Resampled data from the Low Energy Charged Particle experiment on Voyager 1 during its Saturn encounter. The dataset includes nearly 100 calibrated channels measuring intensities of charged particles above 15 keV for electrons and 30 keV for ions, averaged to 15-minute intervals. It was produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Use Cases

• Analyzing charged particle anisotropy based on the eight-sector rotating head measurements.
• Studying particle energy spectra using the channel-specific energy bandpass information.
• Investigating background contamination levels using Sector 8 data covered by a sunshield.
• Converting raw rate data to physical intensity units based on geometric factors and energy bandpass.

Strengths

• Includes nearly 100 distinct measurement channels for detailed particle analysis.
• Data is globally calibrated and time-averaged to 15-minute intervals, preserving full angular anisotropy information.
• Provides sector-specific data from a rotating instrument head for directional analysis.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data is in 'rate' format, requiring conversion to physical units based on contextual decisions about mass species and background.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Data collected by the Low Energy Charged Particle instrument on the Voyager 1 spacecraft.

Time Range

During Voyager 1's encounter with Saturn.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 08:30:04.278940; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Spacecraft vicinity of Saturn.