PACO Bright Sample: 1004 Radio Source Observations for Calibration Transfer

The Planck-ATCA Co-eval Observations (PACO) Project Bright Sample Catalog contains 1004 observations of 180 radio sources. NASA's project measured flux densities between 4.5 and 40 GHz from July 2009 to August 2010, almost simultaneously with Planck satellite observations. The catalog provides 24 flux density measurements per observation and includes double power-law spectral fits for 174 point-like sources.

Use Cases

• Analyzing radio source spectral behavior based on flux density measurements across 24 frequencies.
• Studying source variability over time based on repeated observations of the same sources.
• Developing calibration transfer models for ground-based telescopes based on the use of Planck's dipole-calibrated flux densities.
• Investigating the spectral properties of bright, point-like radio sources based on double power-law fits.

Strengths

• Provides nearly simultaneous ground and satellite observations for calibration comparison.
• Contains 1004 observations of 180 sources, with several sources observed multiple times.
• Offers flux density measurements at 24 specific frequencies per observation, split across six 2-GHz bands.
• Includes spectral model parameters (S0, nu0, a, b) for 174 point-like sources.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is known (1004), but the total number of unique source entries and other sample details require manual inspection.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the selection criteria (Declination < -30 degrees, Galactic latitude |b| > 5 degrees).

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Observations made with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) across six 2-GHz wide bands.

Time Range

July 2009 to August 2010

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 16:43:30.992076; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Sources selected with Declination < -30 degrees and Galactic latitude |b| > 5 degrees.