Interstellar FUV Radiation Maps and Stellar Catalog within 800 Parsecs

2026 data release provides four 3D maps of the far-ultraviolet radiation field and a stellar catalog within 800 parsecs of the Sun. The maps are 161x161x161 arrays with 6 spectral bins or a single total energy density value, each grid cell representing a 10x10x10 cubic parsec volume. The accompanying catalog contains stellar data including GAIA DR3 IDs, coordinates, temperatures, and energy densities across six spectral bins.

Use Cases

• Model interstellar photochemistry by correlating the total FUV energy density from 'uv_map.npy' with stellar properties like Teff and A_V from the catalog.
• Analyze spectral energy distribution variations across space using the six binned energy density columns (u_1 to u_6) from the stellar catalog.
• Train a 3D convolutional network on the 161x161x161x6 'uv_map_bins.npy' array to predict the smoothed radiation field from 'uv_map_smoothed.npy'.
• Map the spatial structure of interstellar extinction by comparing the 'uv_map_absorption_bins.npy' array with the visual extinction (A_V) values for catalog stars.
• Study stellar populations by clustering stars based on Galactic Cartesian coordinates (x, y, z), effective temperature (Teff), and surface gravity (logg).

Strengths

• High spatial resolution with a 10-parsec cubic grid across a 1600-parsec wide volume centered on the Sun.
• Provides spectral decomposition with six distinct FUV wavelength bins for detailed energy distribution analysis.
• Includes a multi-source stellar catalog with identifiers from GAIA DR3, Tycho, and Hipparcos missions.
• Offers multiple derived data products, including raw, smoothed, and absorption-corrected radiation maps.

Limitations

• The stellar catalog is split across two separate files ('uv_map_catalog_part1.csv', 'part2.csv'), requiring a join for a complete view.
• Map arrays are large (161^3 or 161^3x6 elements), demanding significant memory for full analysis.
• Data provenance and acquisition method for the stellar catalog is only referenced to a paper figure, not self-contained.

Provenance

Source

Harvard Dataverse, authored by David Lomeli.

Collection Method

Stellar data acquired per methodology in the associated research paper; radiation maps are computed models based on that catalog.

Freshness

Last updated January 2026.

Geography

Spatial coverage is a 1600x1600x1600 parsec cube in Galactic Cartesian coordinates centered on the Sun.