GCVS4.2: Catalog of 10,979 Extragalactic Variable Stars

10,979 variable stars in 35 stellar systems outside the Milky Way, including the Magellanic Clouds and the Andromeda Galaxy. This catalog is the electronically-readable version of the General Catalog of Variable Stars, Volume V, distributed by the Sternberg Astronomical Institute and Institute of Astronomy. NASA's HEASARC created this online version in January 2005 based on the CDS Catalog II/250.

Use Cases

• Classifying variable star types based on cataloged properties.
• Studying stellar populations in specific extragalactic systems like the Magellanic Clouds.
• Identifying candidate non-member stars based on the 144 flagged entries.
• Cross-referencing extragalactic variable stars with observations from other astronomical surveys.

Strengths

• Contains 10,979 cataloged variable stars.
• Covers 35 distinct extragalactic stellar systems.
• Flags 144 stars as non-members and 92 as possible non-members for clarity.
• Based on the authoritative GCVS reference maintained by the Sternberg Astronomical Institute.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is known, but specific data fields and their completeness are not described.
• Last updated 2026-03-13 19:26:48.260457; freshness should be verified against the original source.

Provenance

Source

Sternberg Astronomical Institute and Institute of Astronomy (Russian Acad. Sci.), Moscow; NASA HEASARC.

Collection Method

Electronic version of the printed GCVS 4th Edition, Volume V, combined with Name-Lists of Variable Stars Nos. 67-77.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 19:26:48.260457

Geography

Extragalactic (35 stellar systems including the Magellanic Clouds and the Andromeda Galaxy).