Voyager 1 Saturn Plasma Ion Density Measurements

VOYAGER 1 SATURN PLASMA DERIVED ION MOMENTS 96 SEC contains estimates of ion moment density in the PLS voltage range (10-5950 eV/Q) during the Voyager 1 encounter with Saturn. The data is presented in a tabular format with columns for time (year, day, hour, minute, second) and moment density in cm-3. This dataset was produced by NASA and is described in Lazarus and McNutt (1983).

Use Cases

• Analyzing temporal variations in Saturn's plasma density based on the time and density columns.
• Studying the structure of Saturn's magnetosphere based on ion density measurements.
• Comparing derived plasma densities with other models or datasets based on the PLS voltage range.
• Investigating assumptions of rigid corotation and their impact on density estimates.

Strengths

• Data originates from the Voyager 1 spacecraft, a primary source for Saturn encounter science.
• The description cites specific scientific publications for methodology (Lazarus and McNutt, 1983) and instrument details (Bridge, 1977).
• The data format is explicitly defined with six columns and a row format of (I5,I4,2I3,I4,F8.3).

Limitations

• The dataset assumes rigid corotation, which leads to an underestimate of density in some regions.
• Densities may be underestimated by a factor of 2-3 in the inner magnetosphere.
• Column-level documentation beyond the six specified columns is absent; additional field semantics must be inferred.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Data collected by the Voyager 1 spacecraft's Plasma Science (PLS) instrument.

Time Range

During the Voyager 1 encounter with Saturn.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 09:20:47.810130; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Saturn's magnetosphere.