Cep B/OB3 Star-Forming Region: Chandra X-Ray Point Source Catalog

A 2003 Chandra X-Ray Observatory observation of the Cepheus B star-forming region produced this catalog of 431 X-ray point sources. The catalog was created by NASA HEASARC in February 2007 based on data from the ACIS-I camera covering a 17' x 17' field of the sky. It provides a census of the stellar population, with 89% of sources confidently identified as clustered pre-main-sequence stars.

Use Cases

• Compare X-ray luminosity functions of different star-forming regions based on the discrepancy noted between Cep OB3b and Orion.
• Study the properties of pre-main-sequence stars based on the catalog's confident identifications.
• Analyze diffuse X-ray emission attributed to unresolved low-mass PMS stars mentioned in the description.
• Investigate superflare events in PMS stars based on the description of source 294 and similar objects.

Strengths

• Contains 431 detected X-ray sources from a focused observation.
• 89% of sources are confidently identified as clustered pre-main-sequence stars.
• Observation used a 30 ksec net exposure time with no background flaring or data losses.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Last updated 2026-03-13 18:01:50.385096; freshness should be verified.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA HEASARC).

Collection Method

Observation with the ACIS detector on board the Chandra X-Ray Observatory on 2003 March 11.

Time Range

Observation date: 2003-03-11.

Freshness

Catalog created in 2007 from 2003 observation data; last metadata update recorded as 2026-03-13.

Geography

Cepheus B molecular cloud and Cep OB3b OB association (celestial coordinates provided).