Misplaced Pages

#267732

49-532: Space physics is both a pure science and an applied science , with applications in radio transmission , spacecraft operations (particularly communications and weather satellites ), and in meteorology . Important physical processes in space physics include magnetic reconnection , synchrotron radiation , ring currents , Alfvén waves and plasma instabilities . It is studied using direct in situ measurements by sounding rockets and spacecraft, indirect remote sensing of electromagnetic radiation produced by

98-454: A 5.6° angular resolution within ± 22.5° of the ecliptic plane (increases to 22.5° at normal incidence to ecliptic plane). The analyzers are swept logarithmically in energy and counters sample at 1024 samples/spin (~3 ms sample period). Thus the analyzers can be set to sample 64 energy samples per sweep at 16 sweeps per spin or 32 energy samples per sweep at 32 sweeps per spin, etc. The detectors are defined as follows: The majority of this section

147-415: A 7 nV/(Hz) sensitivity, 400 Hz to 6.4 kHz bandwidth, and total dynamic range in excess of 100 dB . The data are taken by two multi-channel receivers which nominally sample for 20 ms at a 1 MHz sampling rate (see Bougeret 1995 for more information). The TNR is often used to determine the local plasma density by observing the plasma line, an emission at the local upper hybrid frequency due to

196-560: A diameter of 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) and a height of 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in). The spacecraft's original mission was to orbit the Sun at the L 1 Lagrangian point , but this was delayed to study the magnetosphere and near lunar environment when the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) and Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft were sent to the same location. Wind has been at L 1 continuously since May 2004, and

245-404: A dynamic range of ±4 nT to ±65,536 nT, digital resolution ranging from ±0.001 nT to ±16 nT, sensor noise level of < 0.006 nT ( R.M.S. ) for 0–10 Hz signals, and sample rates varying from 44 samples per second (sps) in snapshot memory to 10.87 sps in standard mode. The data are also available in averages at 3 seconds, 1 minute, and 1 hour. The data sampled at higher rates ( i.e. >10 sps)

294-488: A latch-up reset on 26 June 2009, that placed the MASS acceleration/deceleration power supply into a fixed voltage mode, rather than stepping through a set of voltages. In 2010, MASS experienced a small degradation in the acceleration/deceleration power supply which reduced the efficiency of the instrument, though this does not seriously affect science data analysis. A comprehensive review of the contributions made by Wind to science

343-557: A problem in the future. In the United States, basic research is funded mainly by the federal government and done mainly at universities and institutes. As government funding has diminished in the 2010s, however, private funding is increasingly important. Applied science focuses on the development of technology and techniques. In contrast, basic science develops scientific knowledge and predictions, principally in natural sciences but also in other empirical sciences, which are used as

392-448: A source of fast protons. They are guided to the poles by the Earth's magnetic field. In the early twentieth century, these ideas led Kristian Birkeland to build a terrella , or laboratory device which simulates the Earth's magnetic field in a vacuum chamber, and which uses a cathode ray tube to simulate the energetic particles which compose the solar wind. A theory began to be formulated about

441-417: A thermal noise response of the wire dipole antenna. One should note that observation of the plasma line requires the dipole antenna to be longer than the local Debye length , λ De . For typical conditions in the solar wind λ De ~7–20 m (23–66 ft), much shorter than the wire dipole antenna on Wind . The majority of this section was taken from. The Wind / 3DP instrument (designed and built at

490-427: Is referred to as High Time Resolution (HTR) data in some studies. The Wind spacecraft has two Faraday Cup (FC) ion instruments. The SWE FCs can produce reduced ion distribution functions with up to 20 angular and 30 energy per charge bins every 92 seconds. Each sensor has a ~15° tilt above or below the spin plane and an energy range from ~150 eV to ~8 keV. A circular aperture limits the effects of aberration near

539-625: Is still operating as of 2024 . As of 2024 , Wind currently has enough fuel to last over 50 more years at L 1 , until at least 2070. Wind continues to collect data, and by the end of 2023 had contributed data to over 7,290 scientific publications. Mission operations are conducted from the Multi-Mission Operations Center (MMOC) in Building 14 at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland . Wind data can be accessed using

SECTION 10

#1732921037268

588-547: The Interplanetary Network . Notifications of astrophysical transients are sent worldwide instantly from KONUS, and are of importance in the subsequent positioning of telescopes everywhere. Thus, the instrument remains an active contributor to the astrophysical community, for instance, with the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory ( Swift mission). The TGRS instrument was shut off early in the mission due to

637-606: The SPEDAS software. Wind is the sister ship to GGS Polar . The aim of the International Solar-Terrestrial Physics Science Initiative is to understand the behaviour of the solar-terrestrial plasma environment, in order to predict how the Earth 's atmosphere will respond to changes in solar wind conditions. Wind 's objective is to measure the properties of the solar wind before it reaches

686-603: The University of Iowa ). The XY search coils are oriented to be parallel to the XY dipole antenna. The search coils allow for high-frequency magnetic field measurements (defined as B x , B y , and B z ). The WAVES Z-axis is anti-parallel to the Z-GSE (Geocentric Solar Ecliptic) direction. Thus, any rotations can be done about the Z-axis in the normal Eulerian sense followed by a change of sign in

735-712: The University of Minnesota ). The longer of the two spin plane antenna , defined as E x , is 100 m (330 ft) tip-to-tip while the shorter, defined as E y , is 15 m (49 ft) tip-to-tip. The spin axis dipole, defined as E z , is roughly 12 m (39 ft) tip-to-tip. When accounting for spacecraft potential, these antenna lengths are adjusted to ~41.1 m (135 ft), ~3.79 m (12.4 ft), and ~2.17 m (7 ft 1 in) [Note: these are subject to change and only estimates and not necessarily accurate to two decimal places]. The Wind WAVES instrument also detects magnetic fields using three orthogonal search coil magnetometers (designed and built by

784-585: The Van Allen belts . The boundary between the Earth's magnetic field and interplanetary space was studied by Explorer 10 . Future space craft would travel outside Earth orbit and study the composition and structure of the solar wind in much greater detail. These include WIND (spacecraft) , (1994), Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE), Ulysses , the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) in 2008, and Parker Solar Probe . Other spacecraft would study

833-511: The compass , but did not understand how it worked. During the 16th century, in De Magnete , William Gilbert gave the first description of the Earth's magnetic field , showing that the Earth itself is a great magnet, which explained why a compass needle points north. Deviations of the compass needle magnetic declination were recorded on navigation charts, and a detailed study of the declination near London by watchmaker George Graham resulted in

882-636: The solar wind and in the Earth's magnetosphere . It was launched on 1 November 1994, at 09:31:00 UTC , from launch pad LC-17B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Merritt Island, Florida , aboard a McDonnell Douglas Delta II 7925-10 rocket. Wind was designed and manufactured by Martin Marietta Astro Space Division in East Windsor Township, New Jersey . The satellite is a spin-stabilized cylindrical satellite with

931-403: The technological innovations of applied science . The two aims are often practiced simultaneously in coordinated research and development . In addition to innovations, basic research serves to provide insights and public support of nature, possibly improving conservation efforts. Technological innovations may influence engineering concepts, such as the beak of a kingfisher influencing

980-777: The Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory ) was designed to make full three-dimensional measurements of the distributions of suprathermal electrons and ions in the solar wind. The instrument includes three arrays, each consisting of a pair of double-ended semiconductor telescopes each with two or three closely sandwiched passivated ion implanted silicon detectors, which measure electrons and ions above ~20 keV. The instrument also has top-hat symmetrical spherical section electrostatic analyzers (ES) with microchannel plate detectors (MCPs) are used to measure ions and electrons from ~3 eV to 30 keV. The two types of detectors have energy resolutions ranging from ΔE/E ≈0.3 for

1029-698: The Earth. The Wind spacecraft has an array of instruments including: KONUS, the Magnetic Field Investigation (MFI), the Solar Wind and Suprathermal Ion Composition Experiment (SMS), The Energetic Particles: Acceleration, Composition, and Transport (EPACT) investigation, the Solar Wind Experiment (SWE), a Three-Dimensional Plasma and Energetic Particle Investigation (3DP), the Transient Gamma-Ray Spectrometer (TGRS), and

SECTION 20

#1732921037268

1078-516: The National Science Foundation. A worker in basic scientific research is motivated by a driving curiosity about the unknown. When his explorations yield new knowledge, he experiences the satisfaction of those who first attain the summit of a mountain or the upper reaches of a river flowing through unmapped territory. Discovery of truth and understanding of nature are his objectives. His professional standing among his fellows depends upon

1127-618: The Radio and Plasma Wave Investigation (WAVES). The KONUS and TGRS instruments are primarily for gamma-ray and high energy photon observations of solar flares or gamma-ray bursts and part of the Gamma-ray Coordinates Network . The SMS experiment measures the mass and mass-to-charge ratios of heavy ions. The SWE and 3DP experiments are meant to measure/analyze the lower energy (below 10 MeV ) solar wind protons and electrons . The WAVES and MFI experiments were designed to measure

1176-623: The Slow (TDSS) sampler runs at ~7,500 sps. TDSF samples are composed of two electric field components (typically E x and E y ) while TDSS samples are composed of four vectors, either three electric and one magnetic field or three magnetic and one electric field. The TDSF receiver has little to no gain below about ~120 Hz and the search coil magnetometers roll off around ~3.3 Hz. The TNR measures ~4–256 kHz electric fields in up to 5 logarithmically spaced frequency bands, though typically only set at 3 bands, from 32 or 16 channels per band, with

1225-660: The Z-component of any GSE vector rotated into WAVES coordinates. Electric (and magnetic) field waveform captures can be obtained from the Time Domain Sampler (TDS) receiver. TDS samples are a waveform capture of 2048 points (16384 points on the STEREO spacecraft) per field component. The waveforms are measures of electric field versus time. In the highest sampling rates, the Fast (TDSF) sampler runs at ~120,000 samples per second (sps) and

1274-461: The basis of progress and development in different fields. Today's computers, for example, could not exist without research in pure mathematics conducted over a century ago, for which there was no known practical application at the time. Basic research rarely helps practitioners directly with their everyday concerns; nevertheless, it stimulates new ways of thinking that have the potential to revolutionize and dramatically improve how practitioners deal with

1323-527: The design of a high-speed bullet train. Basic research advances fundamental knowledge about the world. It focuses on creating and refuting or supporting theories that explain observed phenomena. Pure research is the source of most new scientific ideas and ways of thinking about the world. It can be exploratory , descriptive , or explanatory; however, explanatory research is the most common. Basic research generates new ideas, principles, and theories, which may not be immediately utilized but nonetheless form

1372-502: The discovery of irregular magnetic fluctuations that we now call magnetic storms, so named by Alexander Von Humboldt . Gauss and William Weber made very careful measurements of Earth's magnetic field which showed systematic variations and random fluctuations. This suggested that the Earth was not an isolated body, but was influenced by external forces – especially from the Sun and the appearance of sunspots . A relationship between individual aurora and accompanying geomagnetic disturbances

1421-509: The electric and magnetic fields observed in the solar wind. All together, the Wind spacecraft's suite of instruments allows for a complete description of plasma phenomena in the solar wind plane of the ecliptic. The electric field detectors of the Wind WAVES instrument are composed of three orthogonal electric field dipole antennas , two in the spin plane (roughly the plane of the ecliptic ) of

1470-493: The geometric factor by a factor of 10 to measure the most intense fluxes. The SST-Foil data structures typically have 7 energy bins each with 48 data points while the SST-Open has 9 energy bins each with 48 data points. Both detectors have energy resolutions of ΔE/E ≈ 30%. The majority of this section was taken from. The Magnetic Field Instrument (MFI) on board Wind is composed of dual triaxial fluxgate magnetometers . The MFI has

1519-408: The interaction between the Earth's magnetic field and the solar wind. Space physics began in earnest with the first in situ measurements in the early 1950s, when a team led by Van Allen launched the first rockets to a height around 110 km. Geiger counters on board the second Soviet satellite, Sputnik 2 , and the first US satellite, Explorer 1 , detected the Earth's radiation belts, later named

Space physics - Misplaced Pages Continue

1568-483: The ions essentially unaffected. Thus, if no higher energy particles penetrate the detector walls, the SST-Foil should only measure electrons and the SST-Open only ions. Each double-ended telescope has two 36° × 20° FWHM FOV, thus each end of the five telescopes can cover a 180° × 20° piece of space. Telescope 6 views the same angle to spin axis as telescope 2, but both ends of telescope 2 have a drilled tantalum cover to reduce

1617-510: The mass, mass per charge, and energy for ions in the energy range of 6–230 keV/e. MASS determines elemental and isotopic abundances from 0.5 to 12 keV/e. SWICS determines mass, charge, and energy for ions in the energy range of 0.5 to 30 keV/e. The SWICS "stop" microchannel plate detector (MCP) experienced a failure resulting in reduced capabilities for this instrument and was eventually turned off in May 2000. The SMS data processing unit (DPU) experienced

1666-556: The mission, though APE does two channels of ~5 and ~20 MeV protons but IT was turned off. However, LEMT (covering energies in the 1–10 MeV/nucl range) and STEP (measuring ions heavier than protons in the 20 keV–1 MeV/nucl range) still continue to provide valuable data. The Solar Wind and Suprathermal Ion Composition Experiment (SMS) on Wind is composed of three separate instruments: SupraThermal Ion Composition Spectrometer (STICS); high-resolution mass spectrometer (MASS); and Solar Wind Ion Composition Spectrometer (SWICS). STICS determines

1715-432: The modulator grid and defines the collecting area of the collector plates in each FC. The FCs sample at a set energy for each spacecraft rotation, then step up the energy for the next rotation. Since there are up to 30 energy bins for these detectors, a full reduced distribution function requires 30 rotations or slightly more than 90 seconds. KONUS remains a very active partner in the Gamma-ray Coordinates Network (GCN) and

1764-468: The originality and soundness of his work. Creativeness in science is of a cloth with that of the poet or painter. It conducted a study in which it traced the relationship between basic scientific research efforts and the development of major innovations, such as oral contraceptives and videotape recorders. This study found that basic research played a key role in the development in all of the innovations. The number of basic science research that assisted in

1813-530: The planned expiration of coolant. The Energetic Particles: Acceleration, Composition and Transport (EPACT) investigation consists of multiple telescopes including: the Low Energy Matrix Telescope (LEMT); SupraThermal Energetic Particle telescope (STEP); and ELectron-Isotope TElescope system (ELITE). ELITE is composed of two Alpha-Proton-Electron (APE) telescopes and an Isotope Telescope (IT). The highest energy telescopes (APE and IT) failed early in

1862-506: The plasmas, and theoretical magnetohydrodynamics . Closely related fields include plasma physics , which studies more fundamental physics and artificial plasmas; atmospheric physics , which investigates lower levels of Earth's atmosphere; and astrophysical plasmas , which are natural plasmas beyond the Solar System. Space physics can be traced to the Chinese who discovered the principle of

1911-766: The production of a given innovation peaked between 20 and 30 years before the innovation itself. While most innovation takes the form of applied science and most innovation occurs in the private sector, basic research is a necessary precursor to almost all applied science and associated instances of innovation. Roughly 76% of basic research is conducted by universities. A distinction can be made between basic science and disciplines such as medicine and technology. They can be grouped as STM (science, technology, and medicine; not to be confused with STEM [science, technology, engineering, and mathematics]) or STS (science, technology, and society). These groups are interrelated and influence each other, although they may differ in

1960-457: The scientific foundation for applied science. Basic science develops and establishes information to predict phenomena and perhaps to understand nature, whereas applied science uses portions of basic science to develop interventions via technology or technique to alter events or outcomes. Applied and basic sciences can interface closely in research and development . The interface between basic research and applied research has been studied by

2009-899: The solid state telescopes (SST) and ΔE/E ≈ 0.2 for the top-hat ES analyzers. The angular resolutions are 22.5° × 36° for the SST and 5.6° (near the ecliptic ) to 22.5° for the top-hat ES analyzers. The particle detectors can obtain a full 4π steradian coverage in one full(half) spin (~3 seconds) for the SST (top-hat ES analyzers). The majority of this section was taken from. The arrays of detectors are mounted on two opposing booms, each 0.5 m (1 ft 8 in) in length. The top-hat ES analyzers are composed of four separate detectors, each with different geometry factors to cover different ranges of energies. The electron detectors, EESA, and ion detectors, PESA, are each separated into low (L) and high (H) energy detectors. The H and L analyzers contain 24 and 16 discrete anodes, respectively. The anode layout provides

Space physics - Misplaced Pages Continue

2058-419: The spacecraft and one along the spin axis. The complete WAVES suite of instruments includes five total receivers including: Low Frequency FFT receiver called FFT (0.3 Hz to 11 kHz), Thermal Noise Receiver called TNR (4–256 kHz), Radio receiver band 1 called RAD1 (20–1040 kHz), Radio receiver band 2 called RAD2 (1.075–13.825 MHz), and the Time Domain Sampler called TDS (designed and built by

2107-538: The specifics such as methods and standards. The Nobel Prize mixes basic with applied sciences for its award in Physiology or Medicine . In contrast, the Royal Society of London awards distinguish natural science from applied science. WIND (spacecraft) The Global Geospace Science (GGS) Wind satellite is a NASA science spacecraft designed to study radio waves and plasma that occur in

2156-605: The sun, such as STEREO and Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). Pure science Basic research , also called pure research , fundamental research , basic science , or pure science , is a type of scientific research with the aim of improving scientific theories for better understanding and prediction of natural or other phenomena. In contrast, applied research uses scientific theories to develop technology or techniques, which can be used to intervene and alter natural or other phenomena. Though often driven simply by curiosity , basic research often fuels

2205-418: The telescopes is covered in a thin lexan foil, ~1500 Angstrom (Å) of aluminum evaporated on each side to eliminate sunlight , (SST-Foil) where the thickness was chosen to stop protons up to the energy of electrons (~400 keV). Electrons are essentially unaffected by the foil. On the opposite side (SST-Open), a common broom magnet is used to refuse electrons below ~400 keV from entering but leaves

2254-767: The total number of publications either directly or indirectly using Wind data is ~7293, or an average of ~243 publications/year (the average since 2018 is ~441 publications/year or ~2648 publications since 2018). Wind data has been used in over 120 high impact refereed publications with ~15 in Science , ~71 in Nature Publishing Group (includes Nature , Nature Physics , Nature Communications , Scientific Reports , and Scientific American ), and ~37 in Physical Review Letters . Many of these publications utilized Wind data directly and indirectly by citing

2303-462: Was noticed by Anders Celsius and Olof Peter Hiorter in 1747. In 1860, Elias Loomis (1811–1889) showed that the highest incidence of aurora is seen inside an oval of 20 - 25 degrees around the magnetic pole. In 1881, Hermann Fritz published a map of the "isochasms" or lines of constant magnetic field. In the late 1870s, Henri Becquerel offered the first physical explanation for the statistical correlations that had been recorded: sunspots must be

2352-597: Was published in Reviews of Geophysics by and highlighted by the journal in an Editors' Vox on the Eos (magazine) website. For a complete list of refereed publications directly or indirectly using data from the Wind spacecraft, see https://wind.nasa.gov/bibliographies.php . Wind continues to produce relevant research, with its data having contributed to over 4800 publications since 1 January 2010 and over 2480 publications prior. As of 5 May 2024 (not including 2024 publications),

2401-428: Was taken from Wilson III (2010). The SST detectors consist of three arrays of double-ended telescopes, each of which is composed of either a pair or triplet of closely sandwiched semiconductor detectors. The center detector (Thick or T) of the triplet is 1.5 cm (0.23 sq in) in area, 500 μm thick, while the other detectors, foil (F) and open (O), are the same area but only 300 μm thick. One direction of

#267732