Polar Orbit Plots


Before January 1 of 2001

The POLAR orbit plots consist of four panels: the top two panels show projections (X-Z and Y-Z) of the Polar orbit (in SM coordinates). The orbit traces are color coded according to the region of geospace the s/c is in or the region on the ionosphere the magnetic footprint falls in (yellow=magnetosphere, green=plasmasphere,black=cusp, blue=cleft, red=oval, gray=polar cap). Dipole field line projections onto the plots planes are also shown for reference.

The bottom two panels show the tracks of the magnetic footpoints (in GEO coordinates) on the ionosphere (at 100 km altitude). The same color coding scheme is applied. The traces are done using the default magnetic field model for ISTP operations (Tsyganenko T89c model with Kp=3-,3,3+ option). Selected ground stations are shown the plots.

Starting on January 1 of 2001

The three panels located in the upper left, upper right, and lower left show X-Z, Y-Z, and X-Y projections of the POLAR orbit respectively, in SM coordinates. The orbit traces are color coded according to the region of geospace transversed by the spacecraft.

The lower right panel is split into two sub-panels, which show the tracks of the magnetic footpoints (in GEO coordinates) on the ionosphere (at 100 km altitude). The same color coding scheme is applied. The traces are done using the default magnetic field model for ISTP operations (Tsyganenko T89c model with Kp=3-,3,3+ option). Selected ground stations are shown the plots.


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Last updated: August 23, 2005