Vector Magnetograph Data from the Solar Physics Branch, NASA/MSFC

The instrument has been upgraded regularly to improve performance. Data taken with the vector magnetograph have been archived for observations made during the following time intervals: Feb. - Dec. 1980 (The first year of SMM) Mar. 1984 - Apr. 1986 Apr. 1987 - Mar. 1988 Sep. 1989 - present (coaligned H-alpha data, too) These data are archived on magnetic tapes and on optical disks; they are unprocessed, i.e., they are the basic polarimetric intensities and not magnetic field components.

The data are made available for scientific work at no cost but sometimes with a time delay depending on work loads from the staff. Contour maps of uncalibrated field components can be generated in a fairly short time; in these cases the MSFC staff would ask to be acknowledged in any publications. If the request is for calibrated data, magnetic field extrapolations, calculation of electric currents in the solar corona, etc., these involve more extensive work and would generally be done as a collaboration.