An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know v
Official websites use .gov
A .gov websites belongs to an official government organization in the United States
Secure .gov website use HTTPS
A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Data Access
FTPS from SPDF (not with most browsers)
HTTPS from SPDF
Ulysses Unified Radio and Plasma wave (URAP) Radio Astronomy Receiver (RAR) 144 Second Data in ASCII
var authors='MacDowall, Robert J.';
document.write(authors);
(2025).
Ulysses Unified Radio and Plasma wave (URAP) Radio Astronomy Receiver (RAR) 144 Second Data in ASCII.
[Data set].
Planetary Data System; Space Physics Data Facility; European Space Astronomy Centre.
https://doi.org/10.48322/49sc-0d06. Accessed on document.write(currentDateStr);.
Note: Proper references, including
Copy BibTeX Citation
or other formats, should include the "Accessed on date" to identify the version of the resource being cited in a given publication.
ResourceID
spase://NASA/NumericalData/Ulysses/URAP/GSFC/SPDF/RAR/ASCII/PT144S
Description
This data set contains 144 second averages of the electric field intensities from the Ulysses Unified Radio and Plasma Wave Instrument Radio Astronomy Receiver (URAP/RAR). The following notes are taken from the Guide to Archiving of Ulysses URAP Data revised January 27, 2010 - version 1.3 ftp://ftp.rssd.esa.int/pub/ulysses/URAP/docs/others/archived_data_user_guide.html Appendix C: USER'S GUIDE TO RAR 144 SECOND AVERAGED DATA FILES The time period of 144 seconds was used for the averaging period because that is the basic cycling time of the instrument. The RAR continually cycles through a list of frequencies. There are 16 lists and the list currently in use is chosen by telecommand. The time period to complete the list is 144 seconds for the high band of the receiver (for telemetry bit rates of 1024 and 512 bps, the cycle time is 64 seconds for bit rates of 256 and 128 bps), after which the instrument begins with the list again. Therefore this period was chosen for the averaging period. The format of the data is indicated by the following Fortran statement which can be used to read the data: DIMENSION F(0:75) READ(1,'(I4,2I2,1X,3I2,1X,5I2,12(/6E12.4),/4E12.4)') + IYEAR, IMONTH, IDAY, IHOUR, IMINUTE, ISECOND, + LO_POL_MODE, LO_SUM_MODE, HI_POL_MODE, HI_SUM_MODE, + IBPS, F The variables are defined as follows: The date and time of the beginning of the averaging period are given in IYEAR, IMONTH, IDAY, IHOUR, IMINUTE, ISECOND. LO_POL_MODE and HI_POL_MODE are the polarization modes of the low and high receiver bands. Their values are defined as: 1: Polarization on. 2: Polarization off. 3: Polarization mode switched during the averaging interval. 4: Polarization mode was unknown (usually due to a data gap). LO_SUM_MODE and HI_SUM_MODE are the polarization modes of the low and high receiver bands. Their values are defined as: 1: Summation on. 2: Summation off. 3: Summation mode switched during the averaging interval. 4: Summation mode was unknown (usually due to a data gap). 1: Summation on. 2: Summation off. 3: Summation mode switched during the averaging interval. 4: Summation mode was unknown (usually due to a data gap). IBPS indicates the telemetry bit rate during the averaging interval. Its values are defined as: 1: 128 bps. 2: 256 bps. 3: 512 bps. 4: 1024 bps. 5: Bit rate changed during the averaging period. 6: Bit rate unknown - usually due to a data gap. F is a vector containing the average signal for the 76 frequencies of the low and high bands. Elements 0 through 63 are from the low band receiver and correspond to frequencies of 1.25+0.75*N Khz where N is the element number (0..63). The frequency channels from 64 to 75 correspond to the following frequencies: F(64): 52 KHz F(65): 63 KHz F(66): 71 KHz F(67): 100 KHz F(68): 120 KHz F(69): 148 KHz F(70): 196 KHz F(71): 272 KHz F(72): 387 KHz F(73): 540 KHz F(74): 740 KHz F(75): 940 KHz The units of the data are microvolt/Hz**.5 measured at the receiver input terminals. To convert to electric field strength the given data must be divided by the effective length of the antenna. This is complicated by the fact that the effective length depends on the antenna impedance which is affected by the plasma conditions local to the Ulysses spacecraft. The impedance will also depend on the frequency. In general, the RAR frequency channels that are well above the local electron plasma frequency are not affected by the plasma conditions and the effective length of 23 meters can be used. When the RAR is in summed, rather than separate, mode the determination of field strengths is even more difficult. Description of the Unified Radio and Plasma Wave Instrument Radio Astronomy Receiver The Radio Astronomy Receiver is divided into two parts, a low frequency receiver and a high frequency receiver. The low frequency receiver has 64 channels that cover the frequency range from 1.25 to 48.0 kHz in linear steps of 0.75 kHz. The high frequency receiver has 12 channels that cover the range from 52 kHz to 940 kHz in approximately logarithmic steps. The high frequency receiver is usually operated in what is called "measure" mode, which causes the receiver to step repeatedly through a list of frequencies that is determined by a ROM on board the spacecraft. There are 16 different lists and one of them is chosen by telecommand. The different lists emphasize different frequency ranges, so as to maximize the information received depending on the type of phenomena being studied. Some of the lists include all 12 possible frequency channels while other lists skip some of the frequencies. The list that has been used for most of the mission does include all frequecies, but there may be times when other lists have been used. At these times only a subset of the frequencies will be present. The low frequency receiver can be operated in measure mode (with its own set of lists of 8 or 16 frequencies) or in "linear sweep" mode where it steps through a contiguous set of frequencies. In linear mode, all 64 frequencies can be stepped through, or a subset of 32 frequencies can be chosen using the lower half, middle half, or upper half of the frequencies. For most of the mission, the low frequency receiver has been operated in linear mode with all 64 frequencies but there have been periods when it has operated in measure mode or in in linear mode with less than 64 frequencies. During these periods only a subset (8, 16, or 32) of the 64 possible frequencies will appear. Besides the intensity of a signal reaching the spacecraft, the RAR can also, when operated in particular modes, determine additional information about the source of the radiation, including its direction relative to the location of Ulysses, its angular size, and its polarization. This is most efficiently done with the signal from the X and Z axis antennas summed together electronically either with or without a phase shift added between the two signals. Although this additional information cannot be recovered from the averaged data, the mode does have a large effect on the background signal level, so the mode of high and low frequency receivers is given in the data as either summed (X and Z antenna combined) or separate (X antenna alone). Reference: Astron. Astrophys. Suppl. Ser., 92(2), 291-316 (1992).
Metadata Rights
CC0-1.0:
Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal
Note
CC0 1.0 Universal is the Creative Commons license applicable to all publicly available SPASE metadata descriptions. The actual data/software may be subject to a different license.
View XML |
Edit
Details
Version:2.7.1
NumericalData
ResourceID
spase://NASA/NumericalData/Ulysses/URAP/GSFC/SPDF/RAR/ASCII/PT144S
NamingAuthority
NASA
ResourceType
NumericalData
ResourceHeader
ResourceName
Ulysses Unified Radio and Plasma wave (URAP) Radio Astronomy Receiver (RAR) 144 Second Data in ASCII
AlternateName
Ulysses Unified Radio and Plasma Wave Experiment - Radio Astronomy Receiver 144 Second Resolution ASCII Data
DOI
https://doi.org/10.48322/49sc-0d06
ReleaseDate
2026-07-21 12:08:37Z
RevisionHistory
RevisionEvent
ReleaseDate
2020-07-07 21:15:50Z
Note
Only known prior ReleaseDate of the metadata
RevisionEvent
ReleaseDate
2025-11-14 16:02:59Z
Note
Added PublicationInfo. Added ResourceType and NamingAuthority. Changed http to https in top-level schemaLocation attribute. Fixed version number separator in top-level schemaLocation attribute. Matched version number in schemaLocation attribute to updated value in Version tag. ZCB
RevisionEvent
ReleaseDate
2025-12-04 13:32:23Z
Note
Added MetadataRightsList and RightsList(s). Updated to 2.7.1. ZCB
RevisionEvent
ReleaseDate
2026-07-21 12:08:37Z
Note
Added HelioData InformationURL. JWL
Description
This data set contains 144 second averages of the electric field intensities from the Ulysses Unified Radio and Plasma Wave Instrument Radio Astronomy Receiver (URAP/RAR). The following notes are taken from the Guide to Archiving of Ulysses URAP Data revised January 27, 2010 - version 1.3 ftp://ftp.rssd.esa.int/pub/ulysses/URAP/docs/others/archived_data_user_guide.html Appendix C: USER'S GUIDE TO RAR 144 SECOND AVERAGED DATA FILES The time period of 144 seconds was used for the averaging period because that is the basic cycling time of the instrument. The RAR continually cycles through a list of frequencies. There are 16 lists and the list currently in use is chosen by telecommand. The time period to complete the list is 144 seconds for the high band of the receiver (for telemetry bit rates of 1024 and 512 bps, the cycle time is 64 seconds for bit rates of 256 and 128 bps), after which the instrument begins with the list again. Therefore this period was chosen for the averaging period. The format of the data is indicated by the following Fortran statement which can be used to read the data: DIMENSION F(0:75) READ(1,'(I4,2I2,1X,3I2,1X,5I2,12(/6E12.4),/4E12.4)') + IYEAR, IMONTH, IDAY, IHOUR, IMINUTE, ISECOND, + LO_POL_MODE, LO_SUM_MODE, HI_POL_MODE, HI_SUM_MODE, + IBPS, F The variables are defined as follows: The date and time of the beginning of the averaging period are given in IYEAR, IMONTH, IDAY, IHOUR, IMINUTE, ISECOND. LO_POL_MODE and HI_POL_MODE are the polarization modes of the low and high receiver bands. Their values are defined as: 1: Polarization on. 2: Polarization off. 3: Polarization mode switched during the averaging interval. 4: Polarization mode was unknown (usually due to a data gap). LO_SUM_MODE and HI_SUM_MODE are the polarization modes of the low and high receiver bands. Their values are defined as: 1: Summation on. 2: Summation off. 3: Summation mode switched during the averaging interval. 4: Summation mode was unknown (usually due to a data gap). 1: Summation on. 2: Summation off. 3: Summation mode switched during the averaging interval. 4: Summation mode was unknown (usually due to a data gap). IBPS indicates the telemetry bit rate during the averaging interval. Its values are defined as: 1: 128 bps. 2: 256 bps. 3: 512 bps. 4: 1024 bps. 5: Bit rate changed during the averaging period. 6: Bit rate unknown - usually due to a data gap. F is a vector containing the average signal for the 76 frequencies of the low and high bands. Elements 0 through 63 are from the low band receiver and correspond to frequencies of 1.25+0.75*N Khz where N is the element number (0..63). The frequency channels from 64 to 75 correspond to the following frequencies: F(64): 52 KHz F(65): 63 KHz F(66): 71 KHz F(67): 100 KHz F(68): 120 KHz F(69): 148 KHz F(70): 196 KHz F(71): 272 KHz F(72): 387 KHz F(73): 540 KHz F(74): 740 KHz F(75): 940 KHz The units of the data are microvolt/Hz**.5 measured at the receiver input terminals. To convert to electric field strength the given data must be divided by the effective length of the antenna. This is complicated by the fact that the effective length depends on the antenna impedance which is affected by the plasma conditions local to the Ulysses spacecraft. The impedance will also depend on the frequency. In general, the RAR frequency channels that are well above the local electron plasma frequency are not affected by the plasma conditions and the effective length of 23 meters can be used. When the RAR is in summed, rather than separate, mode the determination of field strengths is even more difficult. Description of the Unified Radio and Plasma Wave Instrument Radio Astronomy Receiver The Radio Astronomy Receiver is divided into two parts, a low frequency receiver and a high frequency receiver. The low frequency receiver has 64 channels that cover the frequency range from 1.25 to 48.0 kHz in linear steps of 0.75 kHz. The high frequency receiver has 12 channels that cover the range from 52 kHz to 940 kHz in approximately logarithmic steps. The high frequency receiver is usually operated in what is called "measure" mode, which causes the receiver to step repeatedly through a list of frequencies that is determined by a ROM on board the spacecraft. There are 16 different lists and one of them is chosen by telecommand. The different lists emphasize different frequency ranges, so as to maximize the information received depending on the type of phenomena being studied. Some of the lists include all 12 possible frequency channels while other lists skip some of the frequencies. The list that has been used for most of the mission does include all frequecies, but there may be times when other lists have been used. At these times only a subset of the frequencies will be present. The low frequency receiver can be operated in measure mode (with its own set of lists of 8 or 16 frequencies) or in "linear sweep" mode where it steps through a contiguous set of frequencies. In linear mode, all 64 frequencies can be stepped through, or a subset of 32 frequencies can be chosen using the lower half, middle half, or upper half of the frequencies. For most of the mission, the low frequency receiver has been operated in linear mode with all 64 frequencies but there have been periods when it has operated in measure mode or in in linear mode with less than 64 frequencies. During these periods only a subset (8, 16, or 32) of the 64 possible frequencies will appear. Besides the intensity of a signal reaching the spacecraft, the RAR can also, when operated in particular modes, determine additional information about the source of the radiation, including its direction relative to the location of Ulysses, its angular size, and its polarization. This is most efficiently done with the signal from the X and Z axis antennas summed together electronically either with or without a phase shift added between the two signals. Although this additional information cannot be recovered from the averaged data, the mode does have a large effect on the background signal level, so the mode of high and low frequency receivers is given in the data as either summed (X and Z antenna combined) or separate (X antenna alone). Reference: Astron. Astrophys. Suppl. Ser., 92(2), 291-316 (1992).
Acknowledgement
Please acknowledge the Principal Investigator, R J MacDowall, of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA, and Mike Lancaster and Cecil Tranquille of the Ulysses Data System, ESA/ESTEC, Noordwijk, NL
PublicationInfo
Authors
MacDowall, Robert J.
PublicationDate
2025-11-14 16:02:59Z
PublishedBy
Planetary Data System; Space Physics Data Facility; European Space Astronomy Centre
Contacts
Role
Person
StartDate
StopDate
Note
1.
PrincipalInvestigator
spase://SMWG/Person/Robert.J.MacDowall
2.
TechnicalContact
spase://SMWG/Person/Roger.A.Hess
InformationURL
Name
Ulysses URAP Instrument Page at NASA/GSFC
URL
https://urap.gsfc.nasa.gov
Description
Ulysses URAP Instrument page maintained by NASA GSFC with URAP data plotting tools, Data Access, Publication lists, Team member lists, documents, and related links sections
Language
en
InformationURL
Name
Guide to Archiving of Ulysses URAP Data
URL
http://ufa.esac.esa.int/ufa/#instruments
Description
by Roger Hess, Robert MacDowall, Denise Lengyel-Frey, formerly known as GUIDE TO THE ARCHIVING OF ULYSSES RADIO AND PLASMA WAVE DATA, revised January 27, 2010 - version 1.3
Language
en
InformationURL
Name
Ulysses URAP Instrument Page at ESA
URL
http://ufa.esac.esa.int/ufa/#instruments
Language
en
InformationURL
Name
The Unified Radio and Plasma Wave Investigation
URL
http://ufa.esac.esa.int/ufa/#instruments
Description
A copy of the instrument paper, Stone et al. Astron. Astrophys. Suppl. Ser. 92, 291-316 (1992)
Language
en
InformationURL
Name
HelioData
URL
https://helio.data.nasa.gov/dataset/Ulysses_URAP_GSFC_SPDF_RAR_ASCII_PT144S
Description
The HelioData dataset page provides an overview of the dataset with access links, associated variables, and more.
PriorIDs
spase://VWO/NumericalData/Ulysses/URAP/Ulysses_RAR_ASCII_PT144S
spase://VWO/NumericalData/Ulysses/URAP/RAR.ASCII.PT144S
spase://VSPO/NumericalData/Ulysses/URAP/GSFC/SPDF/RAR/ASCII/PT144S
AccessInformation
RepositoryID
spase://SMWG/Repository/NASA/GSFC/SPDF
Availability
Online
AccessRights
Open
RightsList
Rights
SchemeURI
https://spdx.org/licenses/
RightsIdentifierScheme
SPDX
RightsIdentifier
CC0-1.0
RightsURI
https://spdx.org/licenses/CC0-1.0.html
RightsName
Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal
Note
CC0 1.0 Universal is the Creative Commons license applicable to all publicly available NASA Heliophysics data products
AccessURL
Name
FTPS from SPDF (not with most browsers)
URL
ftps://spdf.gsfc.nasa.gov/pub/data/ulysses/radio/urap/rar_144sec_ascii/
Description
FTP access to repository of Ulysses/URAP RAR 144 ASCII format data files at NASA's SPDF
Language
en
AccessURL
Name
HTTPS from SPDF
URL
https://spdf.gsfc.nasa.gov/pub/data/ulysses/radio/urap/rar_144sec_ascii/
Description
In CDF via HTTP from SPDF
Format
Text.ASCII
Acknowledgement
Please acknowledge the Principal Investigator, R J MacDowall, of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA, and Mike Lancaster and Cecil Tranquille of the Ulysses Data System, ESA/ESTEC, Noordwijk, NL
ProcessingLevel
Calibrated
InstrumentIDs
spase://SMWG/Instrument/Ulysses/URAP
MeasurementType
Waves.Passive
MeasurementType
ElectricField
TemporalDescription
TimeSpan
StartDate
1990-11-03 19:30:00Z
StopDate
2007-11-26 18:30:00Z
Cadence
PT144S
SpectralRange
RadioFrequency
ObservedRegion
Heliosphere.Inner
ObservedRegion
Heliosphere.Outer
ObservedRegion
Jupiter
ObservedRegion
Sun.Corona
Caveats
Ulyssses URAP Interference and other issues affecting data interpretation - see Ulysses URAP - Interference and other issues affecting data interpretation http://vwo.nasa.gov/urap/URAP_InterpretationIssues/urap_interpretation.html
Keywords
Dynamic Spectrogram
Spectrogram
Solar radio burst
Jovian Kilometric Radiation
KOM
bKOM
Jovian Hectometric Radiation
HOM
Type II Solar radio burst
Type III Solar radio burst
UHR
Upper hybrid resonance
VLF Emissions
ULF Emissions
Whistler
Parameter #1
Name
Date
Units
year, month, day
RenderingHints
ValueFormat
I4,2I2
Support
SupportQuantity
Temporal
Parameter #2
Name
Time
Units
hour, minutes, sec
RenderingHints
ValueFormat
3I2
Support
SupportQuantity
Temporal
Parameter #3
Name
LO_POL_MODE
Description
The polarization mode of the low receiver band. Their values are defined as: 1: Polarization on. 2: Polarization off. 3: Polarization mode switched during the averaging interval. 4: Polarization mode was unknown (usually due to a data gap).
Support
SupportQuantity
Other
Parameter #4
Name
LO_SUM_MODE
Description
The polarization modes of the low receiver bands. Their values are defined as: 1: Summation on. 2: Summation off. 3: Summation mode switched during the averaging interval. 4: Summation mode was unknown (usually due to a data gap).
Support
SupportQuantity
Other
Parameter #5
Name
HI_POL_MODE
Description
The polarization mode of the low receiver band. Their values are defined as: 1: Polarization on. 2: Polarization off. 3: Polarization mode switched during the averaging interval. 4: Polarization mode was unknown (usually due to a data gap).
Support
SupportQuantity
Other
Parameter #6
Name
HI_SUM_MODE
Description
The polarization modes of the low receiver bands. Their values are defined as: 1: Summation on. 2: Summation off. 3: Summation mode switched during the averaging interval. 4: Summation mode was unknown (usually due to a data gap).
Support
SupportQuantity
Other
Parameter #7
Name
IBPS
Description
The telemetry bit rate during the averaging interval. Its values are defined as: 1: 128 bps. 2: 256 bps. 3: 512 bps. 4: 1024 bps. 5: Bit rate changed during the averaging period. 6: Bit rate unknown - usually due to a data gap.
Support
SupportQuantity
Other
Parameter #8
Name
RAR Electric field intensity
Description
RAR Electric field intensity in 76 channels. See Description above for computing the corresponding frequencies and converting the intensities into electric field strength.
Units
microVolt/Hz**0.5
Wave
WaveType
PlasmaWaves
WaveQuantity
ACElectricField
FrequencyRange
SpectralRange
RadioFrequency
Low
1.25
High
940
Units
kHz