HerMES 250 micron StarFinder Catalog: Extragalactic Dust and Star Formation

A 380 square degree survey of nested fields ranging from 0.01 to 20 sq. deg., conducted by the Herschel Space Observatory. The data was collected by the SPIRE instrument at 250, 350, and 500 microns to capture redshifted thermal emission from interstellar dust. This catalog, produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is part of the HerMES legacy program to study galaxy formation and evolution.

Use Cases

• Modeling galaxy spectral energy distributions based on thermal dust emission.
• Analyzing the relationship between dust-obscured and unobscured star formation rates.
• Studying the evolution of galaxies across cosmic time using multi-wavelength data.
• Mapping the distribution of interstellar dust in extragalactic fields.

Strengths

• Covers a total survey area of 380 square degrees.
• Data captured at three specific wavelengths (250, 350, and 500 microns) critical for dust emission.
• Survey fields are nested, ranging from 0.01 to 20 square degrees for multi-scale analysis.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is provided in a BIN format which may require specialized tools for access.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Observations from the SPIRE instrument on the Herschel Space Observatory.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 17:57:14.614240; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Extragalactic survey fields (non-terrestrial).