=============================================================
== Solar Flux and Geomagnetic Indices in STK Applications ==
=============================================================

				=======================
				= Updates/Changes     =
				=======================

Feb.  2010: These files were missing data from 20051001 to 20051231
            which has now been included by copying the data from
            the stkNewFluxGeoMag.fxm file. The copied data includes
            changes to the average F10 values before and after the
            missing dates.

Sept. 2004: Our ftp site name has changed, as has the location of
			these files on the ftp site. These files are now
			stored at:
				ftp://ftp.agi.com/pub/DynamicEarthData

Sept. 2004: Added ability to read observed ap or Kp values by
			using a new keyword. Look under the section titled
			"Listing of modified kp_ap.fmt" and look for the
			keyword ReadApOrKp.

July  2004: Added flux files to our ftp site which contain
			daily measured values and daily updates to
			predicted data. See the section below titled
			"Daily Observed Data".


				=======================
				= General Information =
				=======================

File Versions and Data Spans:
-----------------------------

There are two files--as of November 2000--that contain solar flux
and geomagnetic indices for use by Astrogator/HPOP in STK as well
as in OD Tool Kit:

1. stkFluxGeoMag.fxm
2. stkFluxGeoMag.5yr.fxm

File #1 is the master file and contains data from 1953 to present.

File #2 is a shortened version of this file, with observed data from
only the last five years (1827 days). The starting date of this file
changes such that the total number of days of observed data in the
file stays constant.

For ephemeris generation of satellites within the last five years,
the stkFluxGeoMag.5yr.fxm file should be used, as it will be processed
much quicker than the master file.

For the quickest processing speed possible, the master file should
be copied and edited to contain data for the time period you are
interested in. The first eight digits of each "Observed" record
are given in yyyymmdd format. For example, the record beginning
19920501 corresponds to May 1, 1992.

If you wanted to model a satellite that was operational from March
1994 to June 1998, you should copy the master file and edit it to
remove Observed records from 1953 to 1994. (Removing records for
dates following the end of the time span you are interested in
will have little to no effect on the processing speed.)

Observed and Predicted Data Sources:
------------------------------------

New observed values are added in one-month blocks as they become
available. These observed values come from files named [YYYY].v[X],
where [YYYY] is the year and [X] is the month numbered 1-12, which
are from the ftp site:

ftp://ftp.ngdc.noaa.gov/STP/GEOMAGNETIC_DATA/INDICES/KP_AP

These files are generated monthly and contain observed data for the
previous month.

Besides observed data, the stkFluxGeoMag.fxm file also contains
predictions for F10.7 and Ap. This prediction data (F10.7 and AP
predictions) come from the file "45DF.txt" located at:

ftp://ftp.sel.noaa.gov/pub/latest/

Data Latency:
-------------

The 45 day predict file is updated daily, and the observed values
are updated monthly. This means that on the day the observed values
are added to the file, there are 45 days of predicted values. On the
next day the 45 days of predicted data are added into our file such
that there are now 46 days of predicted data, with the first day of
predicted data being one day old. In 10 days, there will be 55 days of
predicted data, and the first day of predicted data will be 10 days old.

FTP Site and Login Information:
-------------------------------

The stk flux files are being updated daily on the AGI ftp site. The
location of these files is:

ftp://ftp.agi.com/pub/DynamicEarthData

You may log in to our ftp site using the login name "anonymous"
and using your email address as the password.

		========================================
		= Format of the stkFluxGeoMag.fxm file =
		========================================

The stkFluxGeoMag.fxm file contains three sections of data, separated by
"BEGIN' and 'END' records. The three sections include observed solar flux/
geomagnetic indices data, predicted flux data, and predicted geomagnetic
indexes. The sections are designated by the following keywords, and must be
given in this order:

BEGIN OBSERVED
END OBSERVED

BEGIN F10_PREDICT
END F10_PREDICT

BEGIN AP_PREDICT
END AP_PREDICT

Observed Values
---------------
These observed values come from files named [YYYY].v[X], where [YYYY] is the
year and [X] is the month numbered 1-12, which are from the ftp site:

ftp://ftp.ngdc.noaa.gov/STP/GEOMAGNETIC_DATA/INDICES/KP_AP

The latest two files, for example, are named "2003" and "2004.v8".

The format of this file is given on the ftp site in the file named 'kp_ap.fmt'.
The main difference between the stkFluxGeoMag.fxm file used in STK and these
raw data files are:

1. We use a 4-digit year instead of a 2-digit year, and
2. We add an 81-day averaged F10.7 value at the end of each line.

Since we change the year to four digits by adding two additional columns, the
column designations in the 'kp_ap.fmt' file do not match what we use. I have
listed below a modified version of the 'kp_ap.fmt' file with the column
designations corrected to match the stkFluxGeoMag.fxm file.

Listing of modified kp_ap.fmt:
------------------------------
The National Geophysical Data Center provides the observations here with no re-
strictions on their use.  Please contact us at the address below with your com-
ments and questions about the form and the content of this information product
or about the measurements themselves.

NATIONAL GEOPHYSICAL DATA CENTER
325 Broadway     Mail Code E/GC2
Boulder, Colorado 80303-3328 USA

Telephone: (303) 497-6475   Telex: 592811 NOAA MASC BDR
FAX:       (303) 497-6513


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SELECTED GEOMAGNETIC AND SOLAR ACTIVITY INDICES
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


WORLDWIDE INDICES--------------------------------------------------------------
The subscript "p" means planetary and designates a global magnetic activity in-
dex.  The following 13 observatories, which lie between 46 and 63 degrees north
and south geomagnetic latitude, now contribute to the planetary indices: Ler-
wick (UK), Eskdalemuir (UK), Hartland (UK), Ottawa (Canada), Fredericksburg
(USA), Meannook (Canada), Sitka (USA), Eyrewell (New Zealand), Canberra (Aus-
tralia), Lovo (Sweden), Brorfelde (Denmark), Wingst (Germany), and Niemegk
(Germany).


THREE-HOUR-RANGE INDEX K-------------------------------------------------------
K indices isolate solar particle effects on the earth's magnetic field; over a
3-hour period, they classify into disturbance levels the range of variation of
the more unsettled horizontal field component.  Each activity level relates al-
most logarithmically to its corresponding disturbance amplitude.  Three-hour
indices discriminate conservatively between true magnetic field perturbations
and the quiet-day variations produced by ionospheric currents.

K indices range in 28 steps from 0 (quiet) to 9 (greatly disturbed) with frac-
tional parts expressed in thirds of a unit.  A K-value equal to 27, for exam-
ple, means 2 and 2/3 or 3-; a K-value equal to 30 means 3 and 0/3 or 3 exactly;
and a K-value equal to 33 means 3 and 1/3 or 3+.  The arithmetic mean of the K
values scaled at the 13 observatories listed above gives Kp.


EQUIVALENT AMPLITUDE-----------------------------------------------------------
The a-index ranges from 0 to 400 and represents a K-value converted to a linear
scale in gammas (nanoTeslas)--a scale that measures equivalent disturbance am-
plitude of a station at which K=9 has a lower limit of 400 gammas.



FORMAT FOR RECORDS OF SELECTED GEOMAGNETIC AND SOLAR ACTIVITY INDICES
(NOTE: Column numbers have been altered to match the stkFluxGeoMag.fxm file)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COLUMNS   FMT   DESCRIPTION
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1- 4     I4    YEAR
 5- 6     I2    MONTH
 7- 8     I2    DAY

 9-12     I4    BARTELS SOLAR ROTATION NUMBER--a sequence of 27-day intervals
                  counted continuously from February 8, 1832.
13-14     I2    NUMBER OF DAY within the Bartels 27-day cycle.

15-16     I2    Kp or PLANETARY 3-HOUR RANGE INDEX for 0000 - 0300 UT.
17-18     I2    Kp or PLANETARY 3-HOUR RANGE INDEX for 0300 - 0600 UT.
19-20     I2    Kp or PLANETARY 3-HOUR RANGE INDEX for 0600 - 0900 UT.
21-22     I2    Kp or PLANETARY 3-HOUR RANGE INDEX for 0900 - 1200 UT.
23-24     I2    Kp or PLANETARY 3-HOUR RANGE INDEX for 1200 - 1500 UT.
25-26     I2    Kp or PLANETARY 3-HOUR RANGE INDEX for 1500 - 1800 UT.
27-28     I2    Kp or PLANETARY 3-HOUR RANGE INDEX for 1800 - 2100 UT.
29-30     I2    Kp or PLANETARY 3-HOUR RANGE INDEX for 2100 - 2400 UT.
31-33     I3    SUM of the eight Kp indices for the day expressed to the near-
                  est third of a unit.

34-36     I3    ap or PLANETARY EQUIVALENT AMPLITUDE for 0000 - 0300 UT.
37-39     I3    ap or PLANETARY EQUIVALENT AMPLITUDE for 0300 - 0600 UT.
40-42     I3    ap or PLANETARY EQUIVALENT AMPLITUDE for 0600 - 0900 UT.
43-45     I3    ap or PLANETARY EQUIVALENT AMPLITUDE for 0900 - 1200 UT.
46-48     I3    ap or PLANETARY EQUIVALENT AMPLITUDE for 1200 - 1500 UT.
49-51     I3    ap or PLANETARY EQUIVALENT AMPLITUDE for 1500 - 1800 UT.
52-54     I3    ap or PLANETARY EQUIVALENT AMPLITUDE for 1800 - 2100 UT.
55-57     I3    ap or PLANETARY EQUIVALENT AMPLITUDE for 2100 - 2400 UT.
58-60     I3    Ap or PLANETARY EQUIVALENT DAILY AMPLITUDE--the arithmetic mean
                  of the day's eight ap values.

61-63     F3.1  Cp or PLANETARY DAILY CHARACTER FIGURE--a qualitative estimate
                  of overall level of magnetic activity for the day determined
                  from the sum of the eight ap amplitudes.  Cp ranges, in steps
                  of one-tenth, from 0 (quiet) to 2.5 (highly disturbed).

64-64     I1    C9--a conversion of the 0-to-2.5 range of the Cp index to one
                  digit between 0 and 9.

65-67     I3    INTERNATIONAL SUNSPOT NUMBER.  Records contain the Zurich num-
                   ber through December 31, 1980, and the International Brus-
                   sels number thereafter.

68-72     F5.1  OTTAWA 10.7-CM SOLAR RADIO FLUX ADJUSTED TO 1 AU--measured at
                  1700 UT daily and expressed in units of 10 to the -22 Watts/
                  meter sq/hertz.  Observations began on February 14, 1947. 
                  From that date through December 31, 1973, the fluxes given
                  here don't reflect the revisions Ottawa made in 1966.

73-73     I1    FLUX QUALIFIER.  "0" indicates flux required no adjustment; 
                  "1" indicates flux required adjustment for burst in progress
                  at time of measurement; "2" indicates a flux approximated by
                  either interpolation or extrapolation; and "3" indicates no
                  observation.

74-78     F5.1  F10.7 81-day Average, based on F10.7 daily data taken from 
                  40 days prior to 40 days following. If there is not data for
                  40 days following, whatever data is available is used.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End of 'kp_ap.fmt' listing
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You will note that geomagnetic indices are given in both Kp and ap values. By
default, we read the Kp values. However, you can add a keyword into this file
to force the reading of the ap values. To read observed ap values, make the
first line in the file (before the BEGIN OBSERVED line):

	ReadApOrKp Ap

and to read Kp, the default, either remove the line or change Ap to Kp:

	ReadApOrKp Kp


Besides using only ap or Kp but not both, not all of the observed data is used.
Here is a stripped down description, and all other columns can be empty:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COLUMNS   FMT   DESCRIPTION
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1- 4     I4    YEAR
 5- 6     I2    MONTH
 7- 8     I2    DAY

(if reading Kp, otherwise ignore)
15-16     I2    Kp or PLANETARY 3-HOUR RANGE INDEX for 0000 - 0300 UT.
17-18     I2    Kp or PLANETARY 3-HOUR RANGE INDEX for 0300 - 0600 UT.
19-20     I2    Kp or PLANETARY 3-HOUR RANGE INDEX for 0600 - 0900 UT.
21-22     I2    Kp or PLANETARY 3-HOUR RANGE INDEX for 0900 - 1200 UT.
23-24     I2    Kp or PLANETARY 3-HOUR RANGE INDEX for 1200 - 1500 UT.
25-26     I2    Kp or PLANETARY 3-HOUR RANGE INDEX for 1500 - 1800 UT.
27-28     I2    Kp or PLANETARY 3-HOUR RANGE INDEX for 1800 - 2100 UT.
29-30     I2    Kp or PLANETARY 3-HOUR RANGE INDEX for 2100 - 2400 UT.
31-33     I3    SUM of the eight Kp indices for the day expressed to the near-
                  est third of a unit.

(if reading ap, otherwise ignore)
34-36     I3    ap or PLANETARY EQUIVALENT AMPLITUDE for 0000 - 0300 UT.
37-39     I3    ap or PLANETARY EQUIVALENT AMPLITUDE for 0300 - 0600 UT.
40-42     I3    ap or PLANETARY EQUIVALENT AMPLITUDE for 0600 - 0900 UT.
43-45     I3    ap or PLANETARY EQUIVALENT AMPLITUDE for 0900 - 1200 UT.
46-48     I3    ap or PLANETARY EQUIVALENT AMPLITUDE for 1200 - 1500 UT.
49-51     I3    ap or PLANETARY EQUIVALENT AMPLITUDE for 1500 - 1800 UT.
52-54     I3    ap or PLANETARY EQUIVALENT AMPLITUDE for 1800 - 2100 UT.
55-57     I3    ap or PLANETARY EQUIVALENT AMPLITUDE for 2100 - 2400 UT.
58-60     I3    Ap or PLANETARY EQUIVALENT DAILY AMPLITUDE--the arithmetic mean
                  of the day's eight ap values.

68-72     F5.1  OTTAWA 10.7-CM SOLAR RADIO FLUX ADJUSTED TO 1 AU--measured at
                  1700 UT daily and expressed in units of 10 to the -22 Watts/
                  meter sq/hertz.  Observations began on February 14, 1947. 
                  From that date through December 31, 1973, the fluxes given
                  here don't reflect the revisions Ottawa made in 1966.

74-78     F5.1  F10.7 81-day Average, based on F10.7 daily data taken from 
                  40 days prior to 40 days following. If there is not data for
                  40 days following, whatever data is available is used.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following is an example of a line from the stkFluxGeoMag.fxm file with the
column designations shown:

0        1         2         3         4         5         6         7
123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678
200009292282 92023 72320171717143  7  9  3  9  7  6  6  6  70.31119192.60171.7

or the equivalent stripped down version, showing only the required data, is:

20000929      2023 72320171717                                     192.6 172.7

Predicted Values
----------------
Besides observed data, the stkFluxGeoMag.fxm file also contains predictions for
F10.7 and Ap. This prediction data (F10.7 and AP predictions) come from the
file "45DF.txt" located at:

ftp://ftp.sel.noaa.gov/pub/latest/

The format for the F10 predict section, as used in the stkFluxGeoMag.fxm file,
is:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COLUMNS   FMT   DESCRIPTION
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1- 4     I4    YEAR
 5- 6     I2    MONTH
 7- 8     I2    DAY
 9- 9     1X    blank space
10-12     I3    F10.7 Prediction value
13-13     1X    blank space
14-18     F5.1  81-day F10.7 average
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The format for the Ap prediction section is:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COLUMNS   FMT   DESCRIPTION
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1- 4     I4    YEAR
 5- 6     I2    MONTH
 7- 8     I2    DAY
 9- 9     1X    blank space
10-12     I3    Ap Prediction value
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Values read from the stkFluxGeoMag file
---------------------------------------

The values from each Observed line that are actually read and used by STK from
the flux file are the year, month, day, Kp (or ap) values, F10.7 and F10.7 81-
day average. All of the predicted data is used. The predicted Ap values are 
converted to Kp values internally to STK.

Daily Observed Data
-------------------

The section for "OBSERVED" data can be augmented with daily measured data. We
keep a version of these files on our ftp site which contain daily measurements
of Kp values:

	ftp://ftp.agi.com/pub/DynamicEarthData/stkNewFluxGeoMag.fxm
			and
	ftp://ftp.agi.com/pub/DynamicEarthData/stkNewFluxGeoMag.5yr.fxm

We put a letter 'd' in column 73 to indicate daily values. We replace these
daily values with the measured monthly values when they become available.

These values are updated three times per day by retrieving values from the
following files:

	http://sec.noaa.gov/ftpdir/latest/curind.txt
	http://sec.noaa.gov/ftpdir/latest/dayind.txt


Summary
-------
The following listing shows sample segments of an stkFluxGeoMag.fxm file,
showing how the "BEGIN" and "END" records are used to differentiate between
observed and predicted data sections. Each section may contain as many records
as needed or are available.

BEGIN OBSERVED
1953021016372620 3 31330303347180  7  2  2  5 15 15 18 39 130.73 13 77.00 51.2
195302111637273727302717 72020183 22 12 15 12  6  3  7  7 100.63 13 77.00 52.0
195302121638 110131317172017 3110  4  5  5  6  6  7  6  2  50.21  7 74.00 51.1
.
.
.
200306282305253047336357474047363 15 39 18 94 67 39 27 39 421.57 93128.10128.9
200306292305263733404733373740303 22 18 27 39 18 22 22 27 241.26 94131.60128.9
200306302305273340433020272727247 18 27 32 15  7 12 12 12 170.94 92132.50128.9
END OBSERVED

BEGIN F10_PREDICT
20030701 130 129.2
20030702 130 134.1
20030703 140 131.8
.
.
.
20031027 160 168.8
20031028 165 168.7
20031029 170 168.8
END F10_PREDICT

BEGIN AP_PREDICT
20030701 020
20030702 015
20030703 020
.
.
.
20031027 015
20031028 013
20031029 012
END AP_PREDICT
