NGC 1068 Chandra X-Ray Compact Source Catalog

84 compact X-ray sources were identified in the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 1068 from a 50-ks Chandra observation. The catalog, published by NASA, includes spectral modeling for 21 sources and identifies five intermediate-luminosity X-ray objects (IXOs) with luminosities exceeding 10^39 ergs/s. The data was last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Identifying black hole candidates based on inferred source masses >~7 solar masses.
• Analyzing spectral shapes of X-ray sources compared to Galactic black hole candidates.
• Studying the correlation between X-ray binary production and massive star formation rates.
• Investigating source variability on short-term (~2 ks) and long-term (9-month) timescales.
• Modeling source spectra using multicolor disk blackbody and power-law models.

Strengths

• Catalog contains 84 identified compact X-ray sources with 66 located within the galactic disk.
• Spectral analysis was performed for 21 sources with at least 50 counts.
• Identifies five intermediate-luminosity X-ray objects (IXOs) with luminosities >10^39 ergs/s.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Data extracted from a 50-ks Chandra observation using the CIAO program wavdetect on images in soft, hard, and full energy bands.

Time Range

Observation period not specified; catalog reflects a single 50-ks observation.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 18:08:41.077866; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 1068, within an 8.4 arcmin x 8.4 arcmin (35.3 kpc x 35.3 kpc) field of view.