PPMXL Catalog: Full-Sky Positions and Motions for 900 Million Stars and Galaxies

900 million stars and galaxies are cataloged in the PPMXL dataset, which provides positions, proper motions, and photometric data. It is a full-sky re-reduction of the USNO-B1 and 2MASS catalogs to the ICRS reference frame, aiming for completeness down to about V=20 magnitude. The dataset was last updated on 2026-03 13 and is provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Use Cases

• Analyze stellar proper motions across the full sky based on the catalog's astrometric data.
• Study the distribution and photometric properties of stars and galaxies based on combined 2MASS and optical photometry.
• Perform cross-matching and reference frame alignment with other astronomical catalogs based on the ICRS-reduced positions.

Strengths

• Contains data for approximately 900 million celestial objects.
• Aims for full-sky completeness down to a specific magnitude (V=20).
• Integrates data from two established source catalogs (USNO-B1 and 2MASS).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• File formats include BIN, which may require specialized tools for access.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Re-reduction of USNO-B1 together with 2MASS to the ICRS reference frame.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 17:58:27.718780; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Full-sky coverage.