2MASS LMC/SMC Calibration: Merged Extended Source Information

The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds were the focus of a special deep observation campaign. This table contains merged photometric calibration data for extended sources from the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS), produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It includes mean positions, magnitudes, and uncertainties for sources detected multiple times during the survey, with merging performed using positional autocorrelation within a 1.5-arcsecond radius.

Use Cases

• Calibrating infrared photometric measurements based on the described zero point offsets and extinction coefficients.
• Analyzing source variability or motion based on the confirmation statistics mentioned in the description.
• Studying the population of extended sources in the Magellanic Clouds from the deep observation campaign.
• Assessing the quality of automated source merging from positional autocorrelation techniques.

Strengths

• Calibration fields were scanned between 562 and 3692 times in photometric conditions, providing repeated measurements.
• Special Magellanic Cloud fields were observed 108 to 468 times during a dedicated campaign from November 2000 to February 2001.
• Merging was performed using a defined positional autocorrelation method with a 1.5-arcsecond radius criterion.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Photometric calibration derived from observations of standard stars in 1° by 8.5' calibration fields (tiles) during the 2MASS survey.

Time Range

Observations for the special Magellanic Cloud fields occurred between November 2000 and February 2001.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 17:37:58.958164; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Focus on calibration fields in and around the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, with additional fields near declinations -30°, 0°, and +30°.