Wind Satellite: Solar Wind Magnetic Field Measurements at 60-Second Resolution

NASA's Wind spacecraft provides processed solar wind magnetic field data linearly interpolated to a 60-second resolution. The dataset was constructed by Dr. J.M. Weygand for Prof. R.L. McPherron and has been used in superposed epoch and cross correlation studies. Version 2 includes a correction for an offset found in the Bz component after November 2004.

Use Cases

• Conduct superposed epoch studies based on processed solar wind magnetic field data.
• Perform cross correlation studies on solar wind using interpolated time-series measurements.
• Analyze magnetic field component offsets and corrections based on the described Bz formula.
• Study solar wind interactions at the magnetopause and bow shock using tri-axial fluxgate magnetometer data.

Strengths

• Data has been processed and linearly interpolated to a consistent 60-second resolution.
• A corrected version (Version 2) addresses a known offset in the Bz component after November 2004.
• The dataset was constructed for and used in specific NSF-funded studies (GEM Grant ATM 02-1798, Space Weather Grant ATM 02-08501).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is available in BIN and HTML formats, which may require specialized tools for analysis.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Processed solar wind data linearly interpolated using MATLAB's interp1.m function.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 03:52:41.554691; freshness should be verified.