User Manual

The primary goal of the UVI-OST project is to provide an online search and visualization tool of UVI auroral and geophysical metadata covering the solar cycle 23.  Data is available from  March 1996 through July 2004 and will be updated throughout the life of the UVI investigation.

Before this project, there were no tools available for searches for UVI auroral images or, more importantly, the information content of such images. The lack of such tools meant that the vast majority of research using auroral images was event-driven, where the only search criteria is the time of the event. The logistical difficulties of organizing synoptic studies spanning extended times, or of finding particular auroral morphologies regardless of the time of their occurrence, is one of the primary impediments for performing non-event-driven auroral studies. This site is intended to provide such a tool.

The text of the proposal which funded this work can be found here

Use this tool to find times of UVI image data that match your research requirements.  Search by time, UVI operational mode, geophysical indices, location, or image content.  Search results (identifiers of desired image data) can be viewed in tabular form, in summary plots, or as a downloadable text file. 

Once your search is complete you can download digital image data directly from this site, as well as software to work with the data.  In addition, you can obtain data from the UVI online data service, from public data sources , or work with a member of the UVI team to request more detailed data.  Regardless of the source, it makes sense to include a member of the UVI team in your investigation to avoid problems with misinterpretation of the data.

Searchable parameters:

1. UVI instrument metadata
Currently,  searches may be created that use the following metadata.

Instrument parameters
Door position and operating sequence.  The operating sequence determines which UVI filters are used and the order in which they are cycled. Links to definitions of the operating sequences are available.

2. Geophysical parameters
kp/ap (3 hour), Ap (daily), Dst (hourly)

3. UVI Image-derived parmeters 
Searches can be refined by total energy deposition, overall image quality, and the degree to which the full auroral oval is seen within the UVI field of view.

Downloadable parameters:

1. Query results and thumbnails 
Instrument data matching your search criteria will be display, along with thumbnails of the images and links to the  UVI online data service.  The query results can  be viewed as tables, summary plots, or as a downloadable text file. 

2. UVI Image data and software
You can download digital image data directly from this site, as well as software to work with the data.  In addition, you can obtain data from the UVI online data service, from public data sources , or work with a member of the UVI team to request more detailed data.  Regardless of the source, it makes sense to include a member of the UVI team in your investigation to avoid problems with misinterpretation of the data.

3. OMNI solar wind data
Solar wind data is available for much of the UVI mission.  

The search database has a 10 minute resolution, which is longer than the nominal 36 second resolution of UVI. While image morphology may change significantly in 10 minutes, the metadata (pointing, operations, etc.) is relatively constant over 10 minutes.  Some parameters such as filter selection and despun platform lock condition change faster than 10 minutes.  Searches on these parameters are not allowed since the results could be misleading. 

Data can be downloaded at this 10 minute, or at full resolution. 

Other AISRP-funded projects at UAH include the ATLAS-1 ISO data browser and research with neural networks to automatically identify features in auroral images.

We have tested this software with the following browsers.  We would like to hear of your experiences with additional browsers, or of any problems with these browsers.  Please use the Feedback Form to pass on any information.

Internet Explorer Ver 4.0, 5.0, 6.0 Click here to download the latest version of Internet Explorer 
Netscape Communicator Ver 4.61, 4.7, 6.0  Click here to download the latest version of Netscape Communicator

Javascript is used on our search form and in various places throughout the site.  You must have Javascript enabled on your browser to use this site.

Personal information collected from this web site is limited to the IP address of your browser and your email address, if volunteered by you. This information is gathered to help us monitor our system performance and to communicate with you. Collected information will never be shared with anyone.