The WISE Nearby Galaxy Atlas
Abstract
The NASA Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission data release contains the most comprehensive collection of mid-infrared imaging of galaxies likely to exist for decades. Unfortunately, this impressive resource will be under-utilized for nearby resolved galaxies because the standard WISE source catalogs are only designed to properly measure point sources. We propose to solve this problem and unlock this great wealth of data obtained by NASA by constructing the WISE Nearby Galaxy Atlas (WNGA) of all WISE observed galaxies with diameters of at least 1 arcminute, velocities less than 30,000 kilometers per second, and that lie above/below Galactic latitude of |b| > 20 degrees. The extended source pipeline software has already been developed and works with image data from several NASA missions and programs such as the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), the Spitzer Space Telescope InfraRed Array Camera (IRAC), the 2 micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) as well as non-NASA imaging from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The WNGA will be made available to the astronomical community via the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED). The WNGA will enhance the legacy of the WISE mission and expedite many research projects that require surface photometry and radial profiles of extended nearby galaxies. The sample consists of 8,996 galaxies from the preliminary public data release (55% of the sky) and an additional 10,644 galaxies from the upcoming second data release for a total of 19,640 galaxies.
- Publication:
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NASA ADAP Proposal
- Pub Date:
- 2011
- Bibcode:
- 2011adap.prop..228M