Voyager 1 Saturn Plasma Electron Parameters from PLS

Electron parameters in the 10-5950 eV energy range derived from the Voyager 1 Plasma Science (PLS) instrument during its Saturn encounter. The data includes total moment density and temperature, with each spectrum fitted with a thermal component and 1-3 hot Maxwellian components, and provides chi-square values for each fit. The dataset was produced by NASA and is described in Sittler et al. (1983).

Use Cases

• Modeling Saturn's magnetospheric plasma environment based on derived electron density and temperature.
• Analyzing electron energy distributions based on the described multi-component Maxwellian fitting.
• Studying spacecraft charging effects on plasma measurements based on the noted factor of 2-3 errors in thermal density.
• Validating plasma simulation outputs against in-situ observations from the Voyager 1 Saturn flyby.

Strengths

• Data originates from the Voyager 1 mission, a primary source for outer solar system exploration.
• Parameters are calculated in several ways, including total moments and multi-component Maxwellian fits.
• A complete description of the dataset is referenced in the peer-reviewed publication Sittler et al. (1983).

Limitations

• Data is flagged as unreliable inside 6 Saturn radii (6 Rs) and in occultation regions.
• The spacecraft charge is not accounted for, which may cause factor of 2-3 errors in thermal electron density.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Derived from the Plasma Science (PLS) instrument on the Voyager 1 spacecraft.

Time Range

During the Voyager 1 Saturn encounter.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 16:34:21.545396; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Saturn's magnetosphere and surrounding space.