2MASS 6X: Merged Infrared Point Source Catalog for Deep Sky Regions

The 2MASS 6X Merged Point Source Information Table contains merged source data from a targeted long-exposure campaign by the 2MASS observatory. It covers approximately 590 square degrees of sky across 30 regions, including deep surveys of the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. The data was produced by NASA and provides mean positions, magnitudes, uncertainties, and confirmation statistics for sources detected multiple times.

Use Cases

• Identify and analyze faint stellar sources based on the deeper magnitude limit mentioned in the description.
• Study source variability and proper motion based on the confirmation statistics provided in the merged tables.
• Conduct population studies of the Magellanic Clouds based on the large, dedicated survey areas of 383 and 127 square degrees.
• Cross-match infrared point sources with other astronomical catalogs based on the provided mean positions and uncertainties.

Strengths

• Targeted long-exposure observations probe approximately 1 magnitude deeper than the main 2MASS survey.
• Covers two large, dedicated surveys of the Magellanic Clouds totaling 510 square degrees.
• Provides confirmation statistics for testing source motion, variability, and merge quality.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the 30 targeted observation regions.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Merged from autocorrelation of positionally associated extractions within a 1.5-arcsecond radius from 2MASS 6x long-exposure observations.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 16:43:39.901145; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Approximately 590 square degrees of sky across 30 targeted regions, including the Large Magellanic Cloud, Small Magellanic Cloud, Pleiades, M31, and galactic star formation complexes.