Space Weather Dials Interpretation Guide

This page provides explanatory text for the dials shown on the Rice Current Solar Wind Conditions and Current Solar Wind Conditions (Dials Only) webpage. These dials use the last good received set of measurements from the Real Time Solar Wind package on the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft. These data are relayed through the Space Environment Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), United States Department of Commerce. The ACE spacecraft is stationed near the Earth-Sun First Lagrange Point (L1), so it can stay constantly between the Earth and the Sun without using too much fuel. This L1 point is about 45 minutes upwind of the Earth in normal solar wind conditions.

On the dial background color schemes, green indicates that values in this range are unlikely to disturb the near-Earth space environment. Yellow indicates that values in this range may contribute to disturbances, and Red indicates that values in this range are likely to drive disturbances. This scheme is valid for all dials except the "Log[Beta]" dial for which a different scheme applys.


Quantities Shown on the Dials:

Quantities Shown on the Dials (Dials Only Page)


Andrew L. Urquhart
(urquhart@rice.edu)
Department of Space Physics & Astronomy
Rice University

This page was last revised on 5/6/98.