Solar Data Dictionary
This page documents the structure of solar datasets available in MackSun. It provides a description of FITS and CSV formats, including header fields, observation data fields, and how each value should be interpreted.
Derived data products are generated from the original observations by applying temporal aggregation procedures defined for each instrument and product resolution. Depending on the product, consecutive samples are grouped into fixed, non-overlapping time windows and reduced to a representative value.
The processing applied to each derived product is documented according to the corresponding instrument and temporal resolution.
The MackSun import and export pipeline does not apply additional scientific calibration, compensation, or correction unless explicitly stated in the documentation of the corresponding instrument.
The derived_1s product is generated from the 10 ms raw data by grouping 100 consecutive
samples into non-overlapping windows and calculating the median of the scientific fields for each group.
The timestamp of each 1 s record represents approximately the center of the aggregation window. In the current implementation, the timestamp of sample index 50 within each group of 100 samples is used as the temporal reference.
FITS and CSV files are generated from the same scientific data and use the same processing. The differences are related to the file format and the representation of metadata and timestamps.
No additional compensation or correction is applied to the POEMAS antenna temperature values during the MackSun import or export process.
For scientific research, MackSun recommends the FITS format because it provides a more stable and appropriate structure for scientific data than CSV.
POEMAS FITS
Format: FITS File | Encoding: Binary | Structure: Header + Observation Data Fields
| Field name | Data type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| FILENAME | String | Name of the generated FITS file |
| ORIGIN | String | Institution responsible for data generation |
| TELESCOP | String | Name of the telescope used (POEMAS) |
| INSTRUME | String | Name of the instrument used (POEMAS) |
| OBSERVAT | String | Name of the observatory where the observation took place |
| STATION | String | Geographic coordinates and altitude of the station |
| TZ | String | Time zone reference |
| DATE-OBS | Date | Date of the observation (YYYY-MM-DD) |
| T_START | DateTime | Start time of the observation in ISO 8601 format |
| T_END | DateTime | End time of the observation in ISO 8601 format |
| N_RECORD | Integer | Number of data records in the binary table |
| FREQUEN | String | Observed frequency bands (45GHz / 90GHz) |
| Field name | Data type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ISO_DATETIME | String | Timestamp in ISO 8601 format with milliseconds |
| TBMAX | Float | Maximum brightness temperature (Kelvin) |
| TBMIN | Float | Minimum brightness temperature (Kelvin) |
| NFREQ | Integer | Number of observed frequencies |
| ELE | Float | Telescope elevation angle (degrees) |
| AZI | Float | Telescope azimuth angle (degrees) |
| TBL45 | Float | Left polarization brightness temperature at 45 GHz |
| TBR45 | Float | Right polarization brightness temperature at 45 GHz |
| TBL90 | Float | Left polarization brightness temperature at 90 GHz |
| TBR90 | Float | Right polarization brightness temperature at 90 GHz |
POEMAS CSV
Delimiter: Pipe (|) | Encoding: UTF-8 | Structure: Header + Observation Data Fields
| Field name | Data type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| FILENAME | String | Name of the generated file |
| ORIGIN | String | Institution responsible for data generation |
| TELESCOP | String | Name of the telescope used (POEMAS) |
| INSTRUME | String | Name of the instrument used (POEMAS) |
| OBSERVAT | String | Name of the observatory |
| STATION | String | Geographic coordinates and altitude |
| TZ | String | Time zone reference |
| DATE-OBS | Date | Date of the observation |
| T_START | DateTime | Start time of the observation |
| T_END | DateTime | End time of the observation |
| N_RECORD | Integer | Number of data records |
| FREQUEN | String | Observed frequency bands (e.g., 45GHz / 90GHz) |
| Position | Column Name | Data type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ISO_DATETIME | String | Timestamp in ISO 8601 format with milliseconds |
| 2 | TBMAX | Float | Maximum brightness temperature (Kelvin) |
| 3 | TBMIN | Float | Minimum brightness temperature (Kelvin) |
| 4 | NFREQ | Integer | Number of observed frequencies |
| 5 | ELE | Float | Telescope elevation angle (degrees) |
| 6 | AZI | Float | Telescope azimuth angle (degrees) |
| 7 | TBL45 | Float | Left polarization brightness temperature at 45 GHz |
| 8 | TBR45 | Float | Right polarization brightness temperature at 45 GHz |
| 9 | TBL90 | Float | Left polarization brightness temperature at 90 GHz |
| 10 | TBR90 | Float | Right polarization brightness temperature at 90 GHz |
Example
FILENAME|poemas_20250629_1200.csv ORIGIN|CRAAM/Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie TELESCOP|POlarization Emission of Millimeter Activity at the Sun (POEMAS) INSTRUME|POlarization Emission of Millimeter Activity at the Sun (POEMAS) OBSERVAT|CASLEO STATION|Lat = -31.79852700, Lon = -69.29558300, Height = 2.552 km TZ|GMT-3 DATE-OBS|2025-06-29 T_START|2025-06-29T12:00:00 T_END|2025-06-29T12:59:59 N_RECORD|3600 FREQUEN|45GHz / 90GHz ISO_DATETIME|TBMAX|TBMIN|NFREQ|ELE|AZI|TBL45|TBR45|TBL90|TBR90 2025-08-22T09:00:00.000-03:00|305.2|298.7|2|45.0|180.0|302.1|303.3|299.8|300.5 2025-08-22T09:00:01.000-03:00|306.0|299.1|2|45.1|180.2|302.5|303.7|300.0|300.9 2025-08-22T09:00:02.000-03:00|304.8|298.5|2|45.2|180.4|301.9|303.0|299.6|300.2
SST FITS
| Field name | Data type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| FILENAME | String | Name of the generated FITS file |
| ORIGIN | String | Institution responsible for data generation |
| TELESCOP | String | Name of the telescope used (SST) |
| INSTRUME | String | Name of the instrument used (SST) |
| OBSERVAT | String | Name of the observatory where the observation took place |
| STATION | String | Geographic coordinates and altitude of the station |
| TZ | String | Time zone reference |
| DATE-OBS | Date | Date of the observation (YYYY-MM-DD) |
| T_START | DateTime | Start time of the observation in ISO 8601 format |
| T_END | DateTime | End time of the observation in ISO 8601 format |
| N_RECORD | Integer | Number of data records in the binary table |
| DATA_TYP | String | Type of SST data (e.g., FAST, INTG) |
| ORIGFILE | String | Original binary file name |
| FREQUEN | String | Frequency bands and channel mapping |
| Field name | Data type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ISO_DATETIME | String | Timestamp in ISO 8601 format with milliseconds |
| ADCVAL_1 to ADCVAL_6 | Integer | ADC channel values (uint16) |
| POS_TIME | Integer | Position timestamp (int32) |
| AZIPOS | Integer | Azimuth position (.001 degrees) |
| ELEPOS | Integer | Elevation position (.001 degrees) |
| PM_DAZ | Integer | Pointing model correction in azimuth (int16) |
| PM_DEL | Integer | Pointing model correction in elevation (int16) |
| AZIERR | Integer | Azimuth pointing error (.001 degrees) |
| ELEERR | Integer | Elevation pointing error (.001 degrees) |
| X_OFF | Integer | Offset in X direction to target center (int16) |
| Y_OFF | Integer | Offset in Y direction to target center (int16) |
| OFF_1 to OFF_6 | Integer | Attenuator settings (int16) |
| TARGET | Byte | Observed target or mirror position (int8) |
| OPMODE | Byte | Operation mode (int8) |
| GPS_STATUS | Integer | GPS status (int16) |
| RECNUM | Integer | Record number (int32) |
SST CSV
Delimiter: Pipe (|) | Encoding: UTF-8 | Structure: Header + Observation Data Fields
| Field name | Data type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| FILENAME | String | Name of the generated file |
| ORIGIN | String | Institution responsible for data generation |
| TELESCOP | String | Name of the telescope used (SST) |
| INSTRUME | String | Name of the instrument used (SST) |
| OBSERVAT | String | Name of the observatory |
| STATION | String | Geographic coordinates and altitude |
| TZ | String | Time zone reference |
| DATE-OBS | Date | Date of the observation (YYYY-MM-DD) |
| T_START | DateTime | Start time of the observation in ISO 8601 format |
| T_END | DateTime | End time of the observation in ISO 8601 format |
| N_RECORD | Integer | Number of data records |
| DATA_TYP | String | Type of SST data (e.g., FAST, INTG) |
| ORIGFILE | String | Original binary file name |
| FREQUEN | String | Frequency bands and channel mapping |
| Column Name | Data type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ISO_DATETIME | String | Timestamp in ISO 8601 format with milliseconds |
| ADCVAL_1 to ADCVAL_6 | Integer | ADC channel values (uint16) |
| POS_TIME | Integer | Position timestamp (int32) |
| AZIPOS | Integer | Azimuth position (.001 degrees) |
| ELEPOS | Integer | Elevation position (.001 degrees) |
| PM_DAZ | Integer | Pointing model correction in azimuth (int16) |
| PM_DEL | Integer | Pointing model correction in elevation (int16) |
| AZIERR | Integer | Azimuth pointing error (.001 degrees) |
| ELEERR | Integer | Elevation pointing error (.001 degrees) |
| X_OFF | Integer | Offset in X direction to target center (int16) |
| Y_OFF | Integer | Offset in Y direction to target center (int16) |
| OFF_1 to OFF_6 | Integer | Attenuator settings (int16) |
| TARGET | Byte | Observed target or mirror position (int8) |
| OPMODE | Byte | Operation mode (int8) |
| GPS_STATUS | Integer | GPS status (int16) |
| RECNUM | Integer | Record number (int32) |
Example
FILENAME|sst_20250629_1200.csv ORIGIN|CRAAM/Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie TELESCOP|Solar Submillimeter Telescope (SST) INSTRUME|Solar Submillimeter Telescope (SST) OBSERVAT|CASLEO STATION|Lat = -31.79852700, Lon = -69.29558300, Height = 2.552 km TZ|GMT-3 DATE-OBS|2025-06-29 T_START|2025-06-29T12:00:00 T_END|2025-06-29T12:59:59 N_RECORD|3600 DATA_TYP|FAST ORIGFILE|sst_raw_20250629_1200.bin FREQUEN|212GHz / 405GHz ISO_DATETIME|ADCVAL_1|ADCVAL_2|ADCVAL_3|ADCVAL_4|ADCVAL_5|ADCVAL_6|POS_TIME|AZIPOS|ELEPOS|PM_DAZ|PM_DEL|AZIERR|ELEERR|X_OFF|Y_OFF|OFF_1|OFF_2|OFF_3|OFF_4|OFF_5|OFF_6|TARGET|OPMODE|GPS_STATUS|RECNUM 2025-06-29T12:00:00.000-03:00|1023|980|1001|995|1005|1010|1432567890|123456|654321|5|3|2|1|0|0|10|10|10|10|10|10|1|2|0|1 2025-06-29T12:00:01.000-03:00|1025|982|1003|997|1007|1012|1432567891|123457|654322|5|3|2|1|0|0|10|10|10|10|10|10|1|2|0|2