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The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) returned its first five years of scientific observations from 2009 to 2013.
In this release, we provide the backing data for the paper "McComas et al., 2014 ApJS, IBEX - the first five years (2009-2013)"
in which are examined, validated, initially analyzed, and which provide to the broad scientific community a complete
set of energetic neutral atom (ENA) observations for the first time. IBEX measures the fluxes of ENAs reaching
1 AU from sources in the outer heliosphere and most likely the very nearby interstellar space beyond the heliopause.
The data, maps, and documentation provided in this release represent the fourth major release of the IBEX data (known as Data Release 7),
incorporate important improvements, and should be used for future studies and as the citable reference for the
current version of the IBEX data. In this study, we also examine five years of time evolution in the outer heliosphere
and the resulting ENA emissions. These observations show a complicated variation with a general decrease in ENA
fluxes from 2009 to 2012 over most regions of the sky, consistent with a 2–4 year recycle time for the previously
decreasing solar wind flux. In contrast, the heliotail fluxes continue to decrease, again consistent with a significantly
more distant source in the downwind direction. Finally, the Ribbon shows the most complicated time variations,
with a leveling off in the southern hemisphere and continued decline in the northern one; these may be consistent
with the Ribbon source being significantly farther away in the north than in the south. Together, the observations
and results shown in this release expose the intricacies of our heliosphere’s interaction with the local interstellar
medium.
For an in-depth description of Release 7, please click on the "Description" menu item or click here.
Use the map selection panel to view and download the corresponding data txt file for a selected map.
Quick visual comparisons and navigation amongst year or 6 months maps can be achieved by clicking on the upper half of the map image either on the left side of the image for PREVious, or on the right side of the image for NEXT. Navigation amongst energy levels can likewise be achieved by clicking on the lower half of the image, instead of clicking the energy related Next and Prev buttons. Hitting Next when on the highest option wraps around to the lowest. A similar but opposite wrap around to the highest occurs when Prev is hit when on the lowest option.
Download or view the paper here.
Animated gif of Figure 19 from the paper. Ram combined yearly maps, Orbits 11-230b, spacecraft frame, survival probability corrected, centered on the downfield direction of the interstellar magnetic field.