Voyager 2 Saturn Plasma Electron Parameters, 96-Second Resolution

Voyager 2 spacecraft data from the Saturn encounter contains derived electron parameters in the PLS energy range (10-5950 eV). Parameters include total moment density, temperature, and fits for thermal and 1-3 hot Maxwellian components, with chi-square values for each fit. The data was produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Use Cases

• Modeling Saturn's magnetospheric plasma composition based on derived electron density and temperature.
• Analyzing electron energy distributions based on thermal and multiple hot Maxwellian component fits.
• Studying spacecraft charging effects on plasma measurements based on noted data unreliability inside 6 Saturn radii.
• Validating plasma instrument data processing algorithms based on provided chi-square fit values.

Strengths

• Data covers the PLS instrument energy range from 10 to 5950 electronvolts.
• Electron spectra are fit with a thermal component and 1-3 hot Maxwellian components.
• Parameters are calculated in several ways, including total moment density and temperature.

Limitations

• Data is unreliable inside 6 Saturn radii and in occultation regions, as stated in the description.
• Spacecraft charge is not calculated consistently, potentially causing 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

Collection Method

Data collected by the Voyager 2 spacecraft Plasma Science (PLS) instrument during the Saturn encounter.

Time Range

During the Voyager 2 Saturn encounter.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 03:44:27.189062; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Saturn's magnetosphere and surrounding space.