M51 Deep Chandra X-Ray Point Source Catalog, 2000-2012

Over 12 years from June 2000 to October 2012, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory captured 852 ks of observations of the nearby galaxy M 51. The catalog presents 298 X-ray sources detected within the galactic D25 radii, with properties analyzed using the ACIS Extract software. This table was created by NASA HEASARC in January 2017 based on data from the reference paper.

Use Cases

• Analyze the luminosity function of X-ray sources based on the power-law index mentioned in the description
• Study source variability and transient behavior based on the reported 20% variable and dozen classical transient sources
• Compare high-mass vs. low-mass X-ray binary populations in different galactic components (NGC 5194 vs. NGC 5195)
• Investigate ultraluminous X-ray source activity based on the reported ~5 active sources per observation
• Perform cross-catalog analysis with comparable datasets like M83CXO, as noted in the description

Strengths

• Contains 298 detected X-ray sources with a low expected spurious rate of ~1.5 sources
• Based on a deep, combined observation time of 852 ks (107 ks archival + 745 ks new)
• Uses a stringent significance threshold (prob_no_source < 5e-6) for source detection
• Directly comparable to the M83 Chandra catalog due to consistent analysis methods

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Data may reflect observational bias inherent to the specific Chandra instrument and time period

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA HEASARC

Collection Method

Photometry performed using the ACIS Extract software on Chandra ACIS-S array observations

Time Range

June 2000 to October 2012

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 17:01:15.419743; freshness should be verified

Geography

The nearby galaxy M 51 (NGC 5194 and NGC 5195)