Wind SMS/STICS: Solar Wind Ion Pitch-Angle Distributions, 30-Minute Data

Wind spacecraft STICS instrument 30-minute Energy-Resolved Pitch-Angle Distributions (ERPAs) for selected ion species using triple and double coincidence measurements. The data organizes ion counts by angle relative to the magnetic field in 7.5-degree bins and preserves native energy resolution across 32 E/Q steps from 6 to 200 keV/e. The dataset is produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and was last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Analyzing ion species abundance and dynamics in the solar wind based on triple-coincidence measurements for H+, He+, He2+, C5+, O+, O6+, and Fe10+.
• Studying pitch-angle distributions relative to the magnetic field vector based on data organized in 7.5-degree bins.
• Investigating energy spectra of suprathermal ions based on native E/Q resolution across 32 voltage steps.
• Comparing signal-to-noise ratios and statistical coverage based on triple-coincidence versus double-coincidence measurement techniques.
• Modeling 3D velocity distribution functions based on data from three telescopes and spacecraft spin covering nearly 4π steradian.

Strengths

• Data includes measurements for up to 7 specific ion species (H+, He+, He2+, C5+, O+, O6+, Fe10+) using triple coincidence.
• Pitch-angle distributions are provided in fine 7.5-degree bins relative to the magnetic field.
• Energy separation is preserved at the native resolution of the 32 E/Q bins spanning 6 to 200 keV/e.
• Instrument provides full 3D velocity distribution functions via three telescopes and spacecraft spin.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Double-coincidence measurements are limited to a select number of ions well separated in E/Q - TOF space.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Measured by the Wind spacecraft's Suprathermal Ion Composition Spectrometer (STICS), a time-of-flight plasma mass spectrometer.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 13:16:07.767106; freshness should be verified.