ACT 2008 Survey: 157 Extragalactic Radio Sources at 148 GHz

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope 2008 Survey 148-GHz Extragalactic Source Catalog contains 157 radio sources detected in a 455 square-degree map of the southern sky. The catalog was created by NASA HEASARC in January 2011 based on data from the 2008 observing season. Flux densities for the sources range from 15 to 1500 mJy, and 98% of detections correspond to sources identified at lower radio frequencies.

Use Cases

• Analyzing spectral index steepening between 5, 20, and 148 GHz based on the reported median values.
• Modeling differential source counts at 148 GHz and comparing to 30 GHz measurements as described.
• Estimating the Poisson contribution to the spatial power spectrum from synchrotron-dominated sources with flux density less than 20 mJy.
• Cross-identifying bright (>50 mJy) sources with the Australia Telescope 20-GHz survey for spectral analysis.
• Investigating the association of radio sources with low-redshift X-ray selected galaxy clusters.

Strengths

• Contains 157 sources with flux densities spanning two orders of magnitude from 15 to 1500 mJy.
• Covers a 455 square-degree area of the southern sky, providing a substantial observational footprint.
• 98% of detections have cross-identifications with sources at lower radio frequencies, suggesting high reliability.
• Provides specific spectral index measurements (e.g., α_5-148 = -0.20 +/- 0.03) and a calculated Poisson power spectrum contribution.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is from a single observing season in 2008; temporal coverage is limited.

Provenance

Source

NASA HEASARC, based on data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) and the LAMBDA website.

Collection Method

Detections from a 148 GHz map of the southern sky during the 2008 observing season.

Time Range

2008 observing season.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 16:58:45.495300; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Southern sky (455 square-degree map).