SAGE-SMC: Spitzer Telescope Infrared Source Catalogs for the Small Magellanic Cloud

SAGE-SMC is a Spitzer Space Telescope legacy program surveying the Small Magellanic Cloud. The dataset contains full lists of sources extracted from MIPS 24 micron mosaics across three observational epochs, designed to remove imaging artifacts and constrain source variability. The project was led by Karl Gordon (STScI) and data is provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Use Cases

• Identify and study variable evolved stars and young stellar objects based on multi-epoch infrared observations.
• Analyze point-like infrared source populations in the Small Magellanic Cloud based on correlation and signal-to-noise criteria.
• Remove imaging artifacts from satellite data based on the 90-degree roll angle technique described for MIPS and IRAC.
• Investigate the structure of the interstellar medium using background subtraction and uncertainty metrics mentioned in the description.

Strengths

• Data from three distinct observational epochs (Epoch 0, 1, and 2) separated by 3 and 9 months.
• Sources filtered using specific criteria: correlation value >0.89 (or >0.91 in structured regions) and signal-to-noise >5.
• Final Epoch 1 catalog estimated to have less than 1% unreliable remaining sources.

Limitations

• The Full List contains all extracted sources, including spurious ones, requiring user caution.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Infrared observations from the Spitzer Space Telescope's MIPS instrument, processed with StarFinder code.

Time Range

Observations from the S3MC pathfinder survey (Epoch 0) and two subsequent SAGE-SMC epochs.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 19:33:57.322998; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Small Magellanic Cloud, a tidally-disrupted, low-metallicity dwarf galaxy.