2019/12/05 by Anthony W. Case, A. W. Case, Justin C. Kasper +22 · 6 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Coronal hole #Coronal mass ejection #Faraday cup #Heliocentric orbit #Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics #Orbit (dynamics) #Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics #Solar maximum #Solar physics #Solar radius #Solar wind #Spacecraft #astro-ph.IM #astro-ph.SR #physics.plasm-ph #physics.space-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.3847/1538-4365/ab5a7b
arxiv created 2019/12/05 · openalex created_date 2019/12/13 · openalex publication_date 2020/02/01 · arxiv updated 2020/02/12 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Abstract Solar Probe Cup (SPC) is a Faraday cup instrument on board NASA’s Parker Solar Probe ( PSP ) spacecraft designed to make rapid measurements of thermal coronal and solar wind plasma. The spacecraft is in a heliocentric orbit that takes it closer to the Sun than any previous spacecraft, allowing measurements to be made where the coronal and solar wind plasma is being heated and accelerated. The SPC instrument was designed to be pointed directly at the Sun at all times, allowing the solar wind (which is flowing primarily radially away from the Sun) to be measured throughout the orbit. The instrument is capable of measuring solar wind ions with an energy between 100 and 6000 V (protons with speeds from 139 to 1072 km s −1 ). It also measures electrons with an energy/charge between 100 and 1500 V. SPC has been designed to have a wide dynamic range that is capable of measuring protons and alpha particles at the closest perihelion (9.86 solar radii from the center of the Sun) and out to 0.25 au. Initial observations from the first orbit of PSP indicate that the instrument is functioning well.