Chandra X-ray Point Source Catalog for 11 Nearby Spiral Galaxies

NASA HEASARC's Chandra Nearby Spiral Galaxies Point Source Catalog contains results from a survey of 11 nearby, nearly face-on spiral galaxies observed with the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The table, created in November 2006, lists over 820 unique point sources detected within the galaxies' D25 ellipses across 22 observations totaling 869 ks. It includes source counts, fluxes, luminosities, X-ray colors, and variability properties for sources including 17 ultraluminous X-ray sources.

Use Cases

• Classifying X-ray source populations based on luminosity and variability properties mentioned in the description.
• Studying the correlation between galaxy Hubble type and X-ray source characteristics across the sampled spiral types (0-7).
• Identifying and analyzing ultraluminous X-ray sources based on the reported detections of 17 such objects.
• Investigating source variability over time using the reported long- and short-term variability data for at least 27% of sources.

Strengths

• Focuses on 11 nearby, high Galactic latitude galaxies to minimize source confusion and line-of-sight absorption.
• Contains data for over 820 unique point sources and 17 ultraluminous X-ray sources.
• Reports variability properties, indicating at least 27% of sources show detectable long- or short-term variability.
• X-ray colors have been corrected for differences between front-illuminated and back-illuminated CCDs.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The description notes that raw, background-subtracted counts from sources on different CCDs cannot be directly compared.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA HEASARC)

Collection Method

Observations from the Chandra X-ray Observatory across 22 observations totaling 869 ks.

Time Range

Observational data likely from before the catalog's creation in November 2006.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 17:37:17.057571; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Observations of 11 nearby spiral galaxies at high Galactic latitude.