Voyager 2 Saturn Plasma: Derived Electron Density and Temperature

Saturn's magnetosphere data from the Voyager 2 spacecraft's Plasma Science instrument. The dataset contains derived thermal electron density and temperature, as well as hot electron moment density and temperature, calculated from electron spectra in the 10-5950 eV energy range. It is a subset of the VG2-S-PLS-5-ELE-FIT-96.0SEC dataset produced by NASA.

Use Cases

• Modeling Saturn's magnetospheric plasma environment based on derived electron density and temperature.
• Analyzing spacecraft charging effects on instrument readings based on the described factor of 2-3 potential errors.
• Studying the thermal and hot electron components of Saturn's plasma based on the Maxwellian distribution fitting method.
• Correlating plasma data with other Voyager 2 instrument readings based on the 96-second time resolution.

Strengths

• Data originates from the authoritative NASA Voyager 2 mission.
• Derived parameters include both thermal and hot electron components, providing a multi-component plasma analysis.
• Specific energy range (10-5950 eV) is documented for the electron spectra.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Spacecraft charging may result in factor of 2-3 errors in the thermal electron density, as noted in the description.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Derived from Voyager 2 Plasma Science (PLS) instrument electron spectra via Maxwellian distribution fitting.

Time Range

Voyager 2 Saturn encounter period (likely 1981).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-10 04:40:58.624098; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Saturn's magnetosphere and vicinity.