Wind SWE: Solar Wind Electron Moments from Quadrature Integration

Electron moment parameters derived from solar wind electron distributions measured by the Wind spacecraft's SWE instrument. The dataset includes density, bulk velocity, temperature, pressure tensor components, and anisotropy parameters for both the full electron population and its core component. Data originates from NASA and was last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling solar wind electron dynamics based on density, velocity, and temperature parameters.
• Analyzing electron temperature anisotropy and gyrotropy relative to the magnetic field.
• Studying the relationship between core and full electron populations in the solar wind.
• Correlating electron moments with corresponding ion observations for combined plasma analysis.

Strengths

• Provides both full and core electron parameters, including density, velocity, temperature, and pressure tensor.
• Derived from measurements across 13 specific energy channels, from 19.34 eV to 1238 eV.
• Data is described as 'reliable and citable' with guidance from the instrument science team.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The PI advises caution and discussion with the SWE team before publishing interpretations.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Derived from quadrature integration and fitting of electron distributions measured by the Wind/SWE instrument.

Time Range

Post-VEIS-era instrument mode (specific date range not provided).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03 13 03:44:42.210335; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Solar wind measurements from the Wind spacecraft location.