RCW 108 Star Formation Region: Chandra X-Ray Point Source Catalog

A catalog of over 420 X-ray point sources detected by a 90 ks Chandra observation of the RCW 108 star-forming region in Ara OB1a. The data, created by NASA/HEASARC in 2008, combines X-ray detections with near- and mid-infrared counterparts from Spitzer/IRAC and MSX. The authors estimate the field contains about 1600 pre-main-sequence stars, with over 800 concentrated in a central region approximately 1.1 parsecs across.

Use Cases

• Classifying stellar populations based on X-ray luminosity and temperature characteristics mentioned in the description.
• Studying the correlation between X-ray emission and infrared properties for young stellar objects.
• Analyzing stellar flare activity based on the reported percentage of variable sources.
• Modeling disk fractions and extinction in star-forming regions using the multi-wavelength data.
• Identifying candidate O or B stars from the catalog of X-ray sources.

Strengths

• Contains over 420 X-ray sources with about 360 having near-infrared counterparts.
• Combines data from multiple instruments (Chandra, Spitzer/IRAC, MSX) for multi-wavelength analysis.
• Provides specific estimates for the population, including about 1600 pre-main-sequence stars and 41 candidate O/B stars.
• Observation details are precise, including a 92.2 ks exposure time and a 17' by 17' field of view.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is from a 2004 observation, processed in 2008; freshness should be verified for current research.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), HEASARC

Collection Method

Chandra X-ray Observatory observation (ObsId 4503) on 2004-10-25, combined with infrared data from Spitzer/IRAC and MSX.

Time Range

Observation date: 2004-10-25.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 18:31:41.113394; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Centered on RCW 108-IR and NGC 6193 in the Ara OB1a association (RA, Dec = 16:39:58.7, -48:51:54.4 J2000.0).