Wind SMS/STICS: Solar Wind Ion Velocity Distribution Functions

NASA's Wind spacecraft provides 3-minute 3D velocity distribution functions for selected ion species in the solar wind. The Suprathermal Ion Composition Spectrometer (STICS) uses triple and double coincidence measurements across 32 energy per charge steps from 6 to 200 keV/e. Data includes phase space density, differential number flux, and counts with statistical errors.

Use Cases

• Analyzing solar wind ion composition based on triple coincidence measurements for H+, He+, He2+, C5+, O+, O6+, and Fe10+
• Studying ion velocity distributions based on 3D velocity distribution functions from multiple telescopes and spacecraft spin
• Comparing signal-to-noise ratios based on triple-coincidence versus double-coincidence measurement techniques
• Modeling suprathermal ion behavior based on energy per charge measurements from 6 to 200 keV/e

Strengths

• Data includes statistical errors for each measurement
• Instrument provides full 3D velocity distribution functions through a combination of 3 telescopes and spacecraft spin
• Triple-coincidence technique 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

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Measured by the Wind spacecraft's Suprathermal Ion Composition Spectrometer (STICS) instrument.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 13:17:16.664018; freshness should be verified

Geography

Solar wind, measured from the Wind spacecraft's position.