Recent Solar Wind Proton and Alpha Observations by STEREO PLASTIC

Abstract:

The STEREO A observatory, launched in late 2006, is in heliocenteric orbit at 0.95 AU and provides offside in-situ and remote observations of the Sun. In 2020, the STA longitudinal separation from Earth was 80 deg increasing down to 60 deg. The Plasma and Suprathermal Ion Composition (PLASTIC) sensor on the STEREO observatory provides solar wind proton bulk parameters. PLASTIC-A has been in continuous operation excepting the interval prior and during solar conjunction. In December 2019 there was an increase in the PLASTIC detector background, which necessitated developing a new mode of instrument operation and data analysis. We will present recent data products from the revised solar wind proton data analysis, which are publicly available. We will also introduce a new data product under development for solar wind alphas.