Morphological Catalogue of Galaxies: 34,000 Objects from Palomar Sky Survey
Updated 3mo ago
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Description
Approximately 34,000 galaxies observed in the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (POSS) are cataloged, with data compiled between 1962 and 1968. The machine-readable version, provided by NASA HEASARC, includes cross-identifications, equatorial coordinates for 1950.0, magnitude, size estimates, inclination, and flags for objects with detailed notes. The catalog was originally intended to be complete for galaxies brighter than magnitude 15.1 but includes many fainter objects.
Use Cases
Classifying galaxy types based on coded morphological descriptions mentioned in the description.
Cross-referencing historical galaxy observations with modern catalogs using NGC and IC identifiers.
Analyzing the distribution of galaxy magnitudes and sizes from a major mid-20th century sky survey.
Studying galaxy inclination and structural features from estimated parameters.
Strengths
Contains approximately 34,000 galaxies, with individual identifiers for about 29,000.
Includes cross-identifications to the NGC and IC catalogs, facilitating historical research.
The machine version was corrected, adding 116 missing objects and deleting 10 duplicate records.
Limitations
Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
The coded morphological descriptions are not included in the machine-readable version.
Coordinates are for the 1950.0 epoch, requiring conversion for modern analysis.
Provenance
Source
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA HEASARC), based on the work of Vorontsov-Velyaminov et al.
Collection Method
Compilation from the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (POSS) plates, published in printed volumes from 1962-1968 and later digitized.
Time Range
Survey data from the mid-20th century; catalog published 1962-1968.
Freshness
Last updated 2026-03-13 17:16:37.531678; freshness should be verified.
Geography
Covers sky zones from +90 deg to -30 deg declination, structured according to POSS zones.
License is listed as 'other-license-specified'; terms should be reviewed before use. Data is provided in BIN and HTML formats.