The MS (mass spectral) Plot has 8 color panels displaying the 8 energy bands associated with the Mass Spectral (MS) Data Product. Data are acquired over more than 98% of the solid angle, averaged for ~ 3 minutes and displayed as a function of color encoded count rate as a function of mass step number (0-63) for each of the 8 energy bands (MS1, MS2, .. MS8). The signal is overcome by a background counting rate from penetrating radiation in the radiations belts. In the Example MS Plot , the background counting rate dominates after ~22:30 UT.
Note:The long black intervals of no MS data on plots in March and April of 1996 are times when the MS data product was not available while calibration data was acquired.

In each of the 8 mass response step vst time spectrorams, the position of the masses (H+, He++, He+, O+, and Moleculars--N2+, O2+, and N0+) in the mass step range 0-63 changes with energy. In the example MS plot, in the lowest energy channel (MS1) H+ is at mass step ~8 and O+ is at mass step ~29. In the higest energy channel (MS8) H+ is at mass step ~32 and O+ is at mass step ~50. A flux of molecular ions can be seen in MS2 above the O+ line just before 12:00 UT. The eight energy bands displayed and the relative position of the masses in each are mode dependent. Timas modes are identified by the ICP number which is given given in the information below the color spectrograms.

Below the MS1 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 (ICP table number). In the Example MS Plot the mode switched from 6 to 5 at ~ 07:00 and back to 6 at ~13:00.

The energy bands displayed are time and mode dependent.

Idedntifying the energy range covered in each of the mass spectra is a multi step process. Each operating mode uses a specific energy look up table (MS ELUT) to select the 8 energy bands to process. The association between TIMAS mode (ie ICP table number) and MS ELUT is given here.
The pointers in the column labeled MS ELUT on this page lead to information about the energy range covered by each of Mass Spectrogram panels.

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. (They are not filled on the sample plot)

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 anomalies which are noted in the Timas major event log