GLIMPSE I: Galactic Plane Infrared Point Source Archive

The Galactic Legacy Infrared Mid-Plane Survey Extraordinaire (GLIMPSE I) Archive contains infrared point source data from the Spitzer Space Telescope. It surveyed approximately 220 square degrees of the Galactic plane, resulting in over 77,000 pointings and about 310,000 IRAC frames. The dataset was produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and was last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Identify and catalog infrared point sources based on signal-to-noise criteria mentioned in the description.
• Perform photometric analysis of stellar objects based on the reported typical photometric uncertainty of < 0.3 mag.
• Compare source properties between the Archive and the stricter GLIMPSE I Catalog as described.
• Study the structure of the Galactic plane within the surveyed latitude and longitude ranges.

Strengths

• Covers approximately 220 square degrees of the Galactic plane, providing a substantial spatial footprint.
• Photometric uncertainty is typically reported as less than 0.3 magnitudes.
• Includes over 77,000 telescope pointings and about 310,000 individual IRAC frames.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Observations from the Spitzer Space Telescope Infrared Array Camera (IRAC), consisting of two 1.2-second integrations per position.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 17:12:42.644651; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Galactic plane covering latitude ±1° and longitude |l| = 10°–65°, plus the OSV region at l=284°.