ROSAT PSPC Survey of the Small Magellanic Cloud: 248 Soft X-ray Sources

NASA HEASARC provides a catalog of 248 soft X-ray sources detected in the Small Magellanic Cloud from 1991 to 1993. The catalog classifies sources into seven classes, including super-soft sources, candidate binaries, supernova remnants, and background quasars. This first version of the SMC catalog was created by the HEASARC in July 1999 based on tables from the ADC/CDS data centers.

Use Cases

• Classifying X-ray source types based on count rate, hardness ratio, and source extent parameters.
• Studying the population of high-luminosity super-soft sources in a nearby galaxy.
• Identifying candidate hard X-ray binaries and active galactic nuclei for follow-up observation.
• Correlating X-ray sources with known objects like planetary nebulae and supernova remnants.

Strengths

• Contains 248 detected X-ray sources with systematic classifications.
• Defines seven source classes using specific selections in count rate, hardness ratio, and source extent.
• Provides likely classifications for about 60% of the catalogued sources.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data collection ended in 1993; newer observations are not included.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA HEASARC)

Collection Method

Systematic search of ROSAT PSPC observations from nine pointings.

Time Range

October 1991 to October 1993

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 16:38:54.885852; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Small Magellanic Cloud, covering a field of 8.95 square degrees