ESS 265: Instrumentation, Data Processing and Data Analysis in Space Physics:
Catalogue Description
Principles, testing and operations of magnetometers and other instruments. Data processing, display and archiving. Time series analysis techniques, including filtering. Fourier series, eigen analysis and power spectra.
Units 4.
Room 4677 Geology; Monday, Wednesday, 9:30-11:00 AM, and occasionally Friday. See detailed schedule.
Course grade will be assigned by consultation between the two lecturers: C. T. Russell and V. Angelopoulos.
Grading A/B/C preferred; S/U possible
The grades for the course will be based on the performance on assignments during the quarter. There is no final exam scheduled. The weighting for the final grade will be as follows:| 50% | ||
| 50% |
Written Assignment
Select a class of instrumentation used on space missions of a type not described in the class notes. Read about the different ways that this class of instruments has been implemented on different missions. Prepare a written report describing the operating principles, the strengths and limitations of this approach, eg.,accuracy and precision obtained. Describe the nature of the differences in various implementations. Include diagrams and instrument specifications such as dimensions, mass, power, data rates etc. Assignment will be due on May 7. This draft will be commented on and returned to the students. The final copy will be due on May 30.
See book list for some helpful references.
A number of software packages developed for both educational and research purposes may be useful for this class.
We will maintain a set of lecture notes for this class online. Some of these from previous years will not be used but are maintained for background reading. Often links from earlier times get broken. Please let the instructors know when you find a broken link.
Chapter 1. Access to Space
Chapter 2. Mission Design
Chapter 3. Past, Present, and Future Missions
Chapter 4. Magnetometers (A History of Vector Magnetometry in Space by Bob Snare)
Chapter 5. Ionospheric Instrumentation
Chapter 6. Deep Space Instrumentation
Chapter 7. Time Series Analysis Techniques in Space Physics
Chapter 8. Fourier Wavelet Analysis
Chapter 9. Correlation and Regression
Winter 2008 Lectures
Lecture 1 Overview: Access to Space
Lecture 2: Mission Design
-- Introduction to bx Program, To accompany Exercise 1
-- Introduction to bx Program, To accompany Exercise 2
-- Introduction to Coherence, Polarization and Ellipticity: Background for Problem Sets 2 and 3
Lecture 3: Past, Present and Future Missions
-- Introduction to mx Program To accompany Exercise 3
Lecture 4: Magnetometers
Lecture 5: Electric Field Instruments
Lecture 6: Decommutation and Processing of Fields Data
Lecture 7: Low Energy Particle Detectors
Lecture 8: High Energy Particle Detectors
Lecture 9: Decommutation and processing of particle data
Lecture 10: AC Magnetometers and Plasma Wave Detectors
-- Introduction to XTRANS and Coordinate Transformation in conjunction with Problem Set 4
Lecture 11: Radio Wave and Plasma Wave Measurements
Lecture 12: Time series analysis techniques
Lecture 13: Time series analysis techniques, continued
Lecture 14: Imaging the Aurora
Lecture 15: Inverting Magnetic Field Data
-- Problem Set on Dynamic Spectra and Wave Analysis
Lecture 16: Alternate Approaches to Time Series Analysis
Lecture 17: Mission design and analysis and the birth of a new mission: ARTEMIS
-- Time Series Analysis of Particles and Fields data: SST corrections
Lecture 18: Interaction of Stellar Flows with Planets and Moons: Three-dimensional Hybrid Simulations
Additional Materials
Previous Lectures
Ray Walker lessons available @ http:lucid.igpp.ucla.edu/lessons/ess265/2005
McPherron first five (2001) lectures: http://www.igpp.ucla.edu/lucid/lessons/ess265/
McPherron programs and data files can be found at ftp://ftp.igpp.ucla.edu/rmcpherr/teaching/ess265_spring_2001/
Text books:
None required
Updated April 15, 2008