SAGE IRAC Archive: Multi-Epoch Infrared Source Data for the Large Magellanic Cloud

The Large Magellanic Cloud was surveyed by the Spitzer Space Telescope's SAGE Legacy Project, which traces the life cycle of observable matter driving galactic evolution. The archive contains multi-epoch IRAC data for over 6 million sources, including evolved stars, young stellar objects, and the diffuse interstellar medium, providing averaged fluxes and variability indices. This data was produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and was last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Analyzing stellar variability over time based on the provided multi-epoch data and variability indices.
• Modeling the lifecycle of galactic matter based on the catalog of evolved stars, young stellar objects, and interstellar medium.
• Comparing source detection and flux reliability between the SAGE catalog and archive based on the different signal-to-noise and neighbor exclusion criteria described.
• Studying the physical processes of the interstellar medium and star formation on a galaxy-wide scale for the Large Magellanic Cloud.

Strengths

• Contains data for over 6 million sources, including approximately 150,000 evolved stars and 50,000 young stellar objects.
• Provides multi-epoch observations with averaged fluxes and variability indices for each infrared band.
• Includes the diffuse interstellar medium with column densities greater than 1.2×10²¹ cm⁻².

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The archive includes sources with more uncertainty compared to the stricter catalog, as noted in the description.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Observational data from the Spitzer Space Telescope's SAGE Legacy Project survey.

Time Range

Multi-epoch observations from the Spitzer Space Telescope mission.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 19:10:57.921556; freshness should be verified.

Geography

The Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way.