Wind SMS/STICS: 3-Minute Ion Density and Energy Moments in the Magnetosphere

NASA's Wind spacecraft provides 3-minute density and mean energy measurements for selected ion species in Earth's magnetosphere. The Suprathermal Ion Composition Spectrometer (STICS) uses time-of-flight and electrostatic analysis to measure ions from 6 to 200 keV/e. Data includes triple-coincidence measurements for H+, He+, He2+, C5+, O+, O6+, and Fe10+, and double-coincidence measurements for H+, He+, He2+, O+, and O6+.

Use Cases

• Modeling magnetospheric ion populations based on 3-minute density and energy moment data.
• Analyzing suprathermal ion composition and dynamics using triple-coincidence measurements for species like Fe10+ and C5+.
• Studying signal-to-noise characteristics in plasma data by comparing triple and double-coincidence measurement techniques.
• Investigating 3D velocity distribution functions of ions using data from multiple telescopes and spacecraft spin.

Strengths

• Data includes measurements for specific ion species: H+, He+, He2+, C5+, O+, O6+, and Fe10+.
• Instrument covers a full energy per charge (E/Q) range of 6 to 200 keV/e across 32 voltage steps.
• Triple-coincidence technique is used, which the description states greatly improves signal-to-noise ratio.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data files are in BIN format, which may require specialized tools for access and processing.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Collected by the Suprathermal Ion Composition Spectrometer (STICS) instrument on the Wind spacecraft.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 03:47:15.912420; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Magnetosphere of Earth.