Ambitious survey efforts across the galactic plane of the Milky Way have revealed 3.32 billion different celestial objects. According to Space, this huge catalog, which may be the biggest of its kind, was constructed through data generated from the Dark Energy Camera of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory of Chile. This observatory is run by the US NSF (National Science Foundation).
Comprehensive Astronomy Catalog of Over 3.3 Billion Celestial Objects
Noir Lab reports how hundreds of billions of stars can be spotted across the entire Milky Way galaxy. On top of this, regions for star formation and great gas and dust clouds can be found across the galaxy as well.
Hence, being able to catalog all of these objects for research purposes is not an easy feat. However, the dataset taken from the DECaPS2 (Dark Energy Camera Plane Survey's second release) reveals in-depth data regarding a remarkable number of celestial objects.
The DECaPS2 was finished in two years and generated over 10 terabytes worth of data. Such magnitude covered 21,400 different exposures and led to the identification of around 3.32 billion objects.
Division director Debra Discher from the Astronomical Sciences Division at the NSF notes how one can just imagine a group photo of three billion individuals in which each person can be recognized. Fischer also notes how astronomers will be focusing on this detailed Milky Way portrait for the upcoming decades.
Researcher, lead author, and Harvard University graduate student Andrew Saydjari expresses that a primary reason for the DECaPS2's success is that it was pointed toward an area that was significantly densely populated with stars. They were also careful about pinpointing sources that overlapped each other.
Saydjari said that by doing so, they were able to come up with the biggest catalog from a single camera, in terms of the quantity of objects observed.
Milky Way's Galactic Plane
Space reports how most dust and stars across the Milky Way are situated on the galactic plane. In the recent releases of the Dark Energy Camera, such a plane appears as a vibrant band across the core. However, though the stars and dust come out as an extraordinary scoop, this also makes the galactic plane difficult to study.
The dark dust and gas tendrils that can be spotted within the images take in light and conceal faint stars. On the other hand, the light from star-forming nebula that are cool and dense inhibits efforts to gauge the brightness of each object. Other than this, the comprehensive population of stars means that the stars pile over each other in the galactic plane. This makes it hard to pinpoint and distinguish a star from its neighbors.
While these could be significant challenges, they can be dealt with by using near-infrared light to view the galactic plane. Because the clouds of gas are not remarkable gas absorbers within these particular wavelengths, specialists can observe the dust and gas to see stars, which are usually faint.
Implications of Astronomy Catalog
The research team also used an innovative approach for data processing, which enabled them to project each star's background. Such a method helped them decrease the effects of obscurity and ensure that the data was accurately processed.
Co-author Edward Schlafly notes that when such images are mixed with those from Pan-STARRS 1, the recent survey offers a view of the Milky Way's disk that is 360-degree and panoramic. Schlafly further notes that with the survey, it is possible to map out a 3D structure of the dust and stars of the Milky Way.
Such a dataset serves as the foundation for the catalog filled with 3.32 billion objects. It can be accessed by specialists and the general public.
According to Space, the research is currently posted in the ArXiv online repository and has been accepted to be published in the Astrophysical Journal Supplement.
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