DOI: 10.48322/7chv-fq03
title: Voyager 2 1-hr Averaged Triaxial Fluxgate Magnetometer (MAG) Interplanetary Magnetic Field in ASCII Format

description: 
               This data set contains hour averages of the interplanetary magnetic     
               field (IMF) measurements obtained by the triaxial fluxgate magnetometer 
               experiment on Voyager 1. Identical instruments on Voyager 1 and 2 were  
               designed to measure the IMF between  Earth and Saturn (10 AU) during the 
               primary Voyager mission. The  design and performance yielded absolute   
               accuracies to better than < 0.1 nT. In general, each component of the   
               hourly average has an uncertainty of up  to (+/- 0.05 nT) in the region 
               beyond 10 AU. More accurate measurements can be  obtained by special    
               processing of the data, but it was not feasible to do this for the      
               entire data set included here. The magnetic field magnitude in nT is    
               provided along with angles of the field vector in the spacecraft-       
               centered Heliographic (HG) coordinate system, also known as RTN.        
                                                                              
               Coordinate System                                                         
               =================                                                         
                                                                              
               Interplanetary magnetic field studies make use of two important         
               coordinate systems, the Inertial Heliographic (IHG) coordinate system   
               and the Heliographic (HG) coordinate system.                            
                                                                              
               The IHG coordinate system is use to define the spacecraft's position.   
               The IHG system is defined with its origin at the Sun.  There are three  
               orthogonal axes, X(IHG), Y(IHG), and Z(IHG).  The Z(IHG) axis points    
               northward along the Sun's spin axis.  The X(IHG) - Y(IHG) plane lays in 
               the solar equatorial plane.  The intersection of the solar equatorial   
               plane with the ecliptic plane defines a line, the longitude of the      
               ascending node, which is taken to be the X(IHG) axis.  The X(IHG) axis  
               drifts slowly with time, approximately one degree per 72 years.         
                                                                              
               Magnetic field orientation is defined in relation to the spacecraft.    
               Drawing a line from the Sun's center (IHG origin) to the spacecraft     
               defines the X axis of the HG coordinate system.  The HG coordinate      
               system is defined with its origin centered at the spacecraft.  Three    
               orthogonal axes are defined, X(HG), Y(HG), and Z(HG).  The X(HG) axis   
               points radially away from the Sun and the Y(HG) axis is parallel to the 
               solar equatorial plane and therefore parallel to the X(IHG)-Y(IHG) plane
               too.  The Z(HG) axis is chosen to complete the orthonormal triad.       
                                                                              
               An excellent reference guide with diagrams explaining the IHG and HG    
               systems may be found in Space and Science Reviews, Volume 39 (1984),    
               pages 255-316, MHD Processes in the Outer Heliosphere, L. F. Burlaga    
               [BURLAGA1984].