6dFGS: Final Redshift Release Catalog for Southern Sky Galaxies

125,071 galaxies from the final release of the 6dF Galaxy Survey, providing a near-complete sample of the southern sky. The catalog contains 136,304 spectra yielding 110,256 new extragalactic redshifts and supersedes the previous DR2 version. It was created by NASA HEASARC in March 2011 based on data from the CDS catalog.

Use Cases

• Study large-scale structure and galaxy clustering based on the 125,071 galaxy positions and redshifts.
• Analyze galaxy peculiar velocities for cosmological models based on the combined redshift and peculiar velocity survey data.
• Create near-complete luminosity function samples based on the provided magnitude limits in K, H, J, rF, and bJ bands.
• Cross-match and validate galaxy catalogs using redshifts from SDSS, 2dFGRS, and ZCAT integrated into this release.

Strengths

• Large scale with 125,071 galaxies and 136,304 spectra.
• Provides 110,256 new extragalactic redshifts not previously available.
• Near-complete samples with defined magnitude limits in five photometric bands.
• Combines best-quality 6dFGS redshifts (Q=3 or 4) with data from other major surveys like SDSS.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count for the specific catalog file is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Last updated 2026-03-13 19:45:58.726604; freshness should be verified for current research needs.

Provenance

Source

6dF Galaxy Survey (6dFGS), NASA HEASARC, CDS Catalog VII/259.

Collection Method

Spectroscopic survey using the 6dF instrument on the UK Schmidt Telescope.

Time Range

Survey conducted circa 2000s; final data release published in 2009.

Freshness

Data represents a final release from 2009, last metadata update recorded as 2026-03-13.

Geography

Southern sky (|b| > 10 degrees).