Example measurements of electron energy and pitch angle distributions from Venus Express
Cite this dataset
Xu, Shaosui et al. (2021). Example measurements of electron energy and pitch angle distributions from Venus Express [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.6078/D1740T
Abstract
Venus has negligible intrinsic magnetic fields to the first order, such that its ionosphere (the charged part of the atmosphere) interacts directly with the solar wind plasma and magnetic field. Therefore, magnetic connectivity to the ionosphere and/or solar wind is an important piece of information for understanding the near-Venus space environment and the Sun-Venus interaction. We utilize measurements from the Venus Express to determine magnetic connectivity, or magnetic topology, for the first time. We find three types of magnetic topology at Venus, one of which is unexpected. This study enhances our current understanding of Venus' magnetic configuration and lays the groundwork for a powerful new tool to help understand various topics of the near-Venus space environment.
Usage notes
The data file includes electron measurements supporting the manuscript, "Magnetic topology at Venus: new insights into the Venus plasma environment", submitted to Geophysical Research Letters.
All datasets are measurements of electron energy and pitch angle distributions by the Electronspectrometer (ELS) onboard the Venus Express (VEx) spacecraft. The datasets are provided in the standard CSV format with descriptive headers.
Funding
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Award: 80NSSC21K0151