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STPSat-1 SHIMMER PMC Data

Metadata Updated: March 13, 2026

This dataset contains Polar Mesospheric Clouds (PMCs) observed by the Spatial Heterodyne Imager for MEsospheric Radicals (SHIMMER) onboard the STPSat-1 satellite. The PMC (primarily a summertime phenomenon) data are derived from over a million limb images during its three-year mission, minus September through November for each year. Each file has a five-line header that includes: (1) Year and day of the year (DOY), (2) Total number of PMC detected on that day, (3) The number of PMC detected when using a phase function of the ice particles, (4) Hydroxyl (OH) radiances at 80 and 87 km, and (5) Labels of the output: Year, DOY, GMT, LAT, LON, LST, SSA, SZA, PMCRAW (1 for PMC detection and 0 for none), PMCMIE (detection above the applied threshold), BGRND (average Rayleigh scattered background signal in kR/nm), BRT (background corrected peak brightness in kR/nm), THRRAW (threshold used to identify a PMC), THRPHS (threshold used to detect PMC in kR/nm), PK (altitude of the peak emission in km), OH80 (OH solar resonance fluorescence radiance detected at 80 km in kR), OHE80 (uncertainty for the 80 km OH radiance in kR), OH87 (OH solar resonance fluorescence radiance detected at 87 km in kR), and OHE87 (uncertainty for the 87 km OH radiance in kR). \n \nIn addition to the PMC data, there are PMC maps and summary figures for each year of operations. The first figure for each year is map_YYYY.ps, where YYY represents the year. This shows the geographic location of each detected PMC, without regard to when it was detected. Also indicated on the maps are the total number of images tested for a PMC as well as the total number of PMC detected for each year. The second figure (summary_YYYY.ps) shows a time series of some important results of the analysis: the number of SHIMMER images tested, a time series of PMC detections for the year, a time series of thresholded PMC detections, and a time series of PMC altitudes defined as the altitude of peak brightness.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: See this page for license information.

Downloads & Resources

Dates

Metadata Created Date March 13, 2026
Metadata Updated Date March 13, 2026

Metadata Source

Harvested from NASA Data.json

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date March 13, 2026
Metadata Updated Date March 13, 2026
Publisher NASA Space Physics Data Facility (SPDF) Data Services
Maintainer
Identifier /SDE/SPASE_JSON/|d5bf6a9cb5431e5bcabcd50d1af7e10a
Data Last Modified 2026-03-10
Category Heliophysics
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 026:00
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id 49dfe5e6-afd4-4f1d-9dd0-d8025f71dab3
Harvest Source Id 58f92550-7a01-4f00-b1b2-8dc953bd598f
Harvest Source Title NASA Data.json
License https://www.usa.gov/government-works
Program Code 026:000
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 76327e55f1bd580bcf7f209f8f7f6326978ac8052be35701815fbfe602aed971
Source Schema Version 1.1

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