Description of TIMAS CTS type plots

POLAR TIMAS

*CTS**

SUMMARY PLOTS

These engineering plots provide an overview of the total count rates (including background) detected by the two TIMAS detector heads.

Energy step values NOT indicated. Energy step 0 corresponds to 15 eV/q. Energy step 27 corresponds to 33 keV/q
Data from the two TIMAS detector heads ( A and B) are shown separately for H+, O+, He+ and He++
- After December 8, 1998 NO VALID DATA were acquired from the second sensor head.
- The values for Head B, after this date are not valid.
- After 12/8/96, the head B data are plotted for engineering evaluation purposes.
The color bar encoding the flux intensity is different from that used in the FLUX_A type plots, the standard browse product

Omnidirectional count rate energy-time spectrograms or CTS plots present observed ion count rates color encoded in units of counts per spin. Backgrounds have NOT been subtracted from the count rates in these plots.

Two panels with 28 energy steps each are presented for the 4 major masses: H+, O+, He+ and He++. The instrument has two relatively independent detector halves. Data from each half can be processed differently. In particular the limited telemetry bandwidth requires that for at least one detector half and for some masses data be averaged from 28 narrow energy bands into 7 broader ones. All data from Head 'B', all He+ data, and some He++ data from Head 'A' are so compressed.
The center energies of each of the 28 fundamental channels cover the range from 25 eV/e to 32 keV/e. The lower limit of energy acceptance is 16 eV/e above the spacecraft potential. The upper limit of energy acceptance is 33 keV/e.
Below the He++ Head B color panel are three line plots and a panel labeled ICP. The top line, BCR is a line plot of the log of the total background counting rate as a function of time. The E RANGE line indicates the instrumental energy range, Full 0.015-33 keV/e (Red/top), Reduced 0.015-22 keV/e (Yellow/mid) or Low 0.015-0.22 keV/e (Green/bottom). The ICP Number in the next panel indicates the operating mode. In the Example FLX Plot the mode switched from 6 to 5 at ~ 07:00 and back to 6 at ~13:00.
If the two lines indicated by BAD are filled by RED, The mass spectral data are OK, but data in the PAD, LRDF, and MRDF data products are unuseable. Key parameters are derived from the LRDF data products and so will be missing for such intervals. See This Page for more information about on board acquisition and processing of data.
Universal Time (UT), the satellite geocentric distance in R/re (R), The McIlwain L parameter (LVAL), the eccentric dipole magnetic local time (EDMLT) and the geomagnetic latitude (MLAT) are given at the bottom of the plot.
Data gaps appear because of spacecraft or instrumental anomolies which are noted in the Timas major event log

Prepared by WK (Bill) Peterson, May, 2008.

POLAR TIMAS

*****CTS******

SUMMARY PLOTS

These engineering plots provide an overview of the total count rates (including background) detected by the two TIMAS detector heads.

*CTS**