GLIMPSE360: Infrared Point Source Catalog of the Galactic Plane

GLIMPSE360 is a catalog of infrared point sources from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. It maps 187 degrees of Galactic longitude not covered by previous surveys, completing full coverage of the Galactic plane. The catalog provides fluxes, positions, and quality flags for high-reliability sources.

Use Cases

• Studying stellar density and distribution based on point source positions across the Galactic plane.
• Analyzing infrared flux properties of stars based on multi-band photometry data.
• Investigating the structure of the Milky Way based on coverage of previously unmapped longitudes.
• Identifying high-quality point sources for follow-up observation based on source quality flags.

Strengths

• Covers 187 degrees of Galactic longitude not mapped by seven previous Spitzer surveys.
• Provides specific longitude coverage: l=65°-76°, 82°-102°, and 109°-265°.
• Includes flux uncertainties, position uncertainties, and quality flags for each source.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Data collected by the Warm Mission Spitzer Cycle 6 Exploration Science Program (PIDs 60020, 61070, 61071, 61072, 61073, 70072).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 16:52:12.849626; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Galactic plane, with latitude range of about 2.8° centered on the Galactic warp.