MWA-32T Low-Frequency Radio Source Catalog for Southern Sky Fields

A 2010 March campaign using the Murchison Widefield Array 32-element prototype observed two ~50-degree fields in the southern sky, covering approximately 2700 square degrees. The resulting catalog contains 655 high-significance radio sources and 871 lower-significance candidates detected in the 110-200 MHz band. This dataset was created by NASA HEASARC in October 2012 based on the reference paper's source list.

Use Cases

• Calibrating low-frequency radio interferometers based on observations of the bright source Hydra A.
• Developing techniques for Epoch of Reionization experiments based on data from the designated EoR2 field.
• Assessing wide-field analysis algorithms by comparing extracted sources with existing low-frequency surveys.
• Measuring astronomical foregrounds for cosmology studies based on the 110-200 MHz frequency coverage.

Strengths

• Covers a large area of approximately 2700 square degrees in the southern sky.
• Provides nearly continuous frequency coverage across three sub-bands between 110 and 200 MHz.
• Represents one of the deepest surveys in its sky field within the specified low-frequency band.
• Source catalog was found to agree well with existing low-frequency surveys and statistical distributions.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count for the primary catalog is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is from a 2010 prototype instrument campaign; system performance has likely evolved.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA HEASARC)

Collection Method

Observations conducted with the MWA-32T prototype interferometer, processed through a calibration and imaging pipeline, with blind source extraction performed on confusion-limited images.

Time Range

2010 March (two-week campaign X13)

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 18:19:47.063307; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Two fields in the southern sky: one centered on Hydra A (RA 9h 18m 6s, Dec -12° 5' 45") and one on Epoch of Reionization field 2 (RA 10h 20m 0s, Dec -10° 0' 0").