PKSCAT90: Southern Radio Source Catalog with Optical Data

8,264 radio sources cataloged from surveys spanning nearly 20 years with the Parkes radiotelescope. The catalog, compiled by John Bolton and colleagues, covers the sky south of declination +27 degrees and combines radio data at frequencies from 80-22,000 MHz with optical identifications and redshifts. This version (1.01) corrects errors from a prior release and was updated by the HEASARC in July 2015.

Use Cases

• Cross-matching radio sources with optical counterparts based on the catalog's combined radio and optical data.
• Analyzing spectral energy distributions of radio sources based on flux density measurements across multiple frequencies.
• Studying the distribution and properties of southern radio sources, excluding the Galactic Plane and Magellanic Clouds.
• Comparing source completeness in specific sky zones, such as the -4 to +4 degree region noted as complete to 0.25 Jy.

Strengths

• Contains 8,264 radio sources, providing a substantial sample for analysis.
• Integrates multi-frequency radio data (80-22,000 MHz) with optical identifications and redshifts.
• Covers a well-defined large area of the southern sky (south of declination +27 degrees).
• Specific sky zone (-4 to +4 degrees) is noted as complete to a flux density of 0.25 Jy.

Limitations

• Coverage at the highest radio frequencies is described as sparse.
• The catalog is noted as being superseded by deeper, more modern surveys like the PMN catalogs for the Southern Hemisphere.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), HEASARC.

Collection Method

Compiled from major radio surveys with the Parkes radiotelescope at 408 MHz and 2700 MHz, supplemented by data from other surveys like Molonglo and Culgoora.

Time Range

Survey work spanned a period of nearly 20 years, with catalog version 1.01 released in 1990.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 18:55:26.269240; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Covers essentially all the sky south of declination +27 degrees, largely excluding the Galactic Plane and Magellanic Cloud regions.