This module is aimed at providing quasi real-time information on the actual conditions of the interplanetary space.
The input data are sequences of plasma measurements acquired in quasi real-time by the ACE spacecraft, located in the L1 Earth-Sun Lagrangian point.
This module handles all the measurements acquired over the last 28 days, thus covering one full rotation of the Parker's spiral, and processes them to provide the input parameters for the Parker's spiral module.
Among different acquired measurements, we select the wind speed, the density, and the three components of the magnetic field. Data acquired over the last 24 hours are extracted and plotted (1-min or 5-min averages); in addition, they are used to show actual values of the Alfvén speed and the wind Alfvénic Mach number (the use of these parameters for possible space-weather forecasting applications will be tested in the near future).
We also show here the evolution of the Dst index as provided by the Data Analysis Center for Geomagnetism and Space Magnetism, Kyoto University.
During a geomagnetic storm, the Dst index is mostly connected with the intensification of the ring currents around our planet, and itìs one of the main indices of geomagnetic activity. (https://wdc.kugi.kyoto-u.ac.jp/wdc/Sec1.html)