Small Magellanic Cloud Radio Source Catalog at 8640 MHz

A catalog of 457 radio-continuum sources detected at 8640 MHz (3 cm) in the Small Magellanic Cloud. The catalog was created by NASA HEASARC in September 2014 based on combined Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) data, with a sensitivity of 0.8 mJy/beam and a resolution of 20 arcseconds. Sources were identified using the MIRIAD task 'imsad' and visually confirmed as genuine point sources.

Use Cases

• Cross-matching radio sources with optical or infrared catalogs based on the provided J2000.0 coordinates.
• Statistical analysis of radio source populations in a nearby dwarf galaxy based on the 457 detected sources.
• Studying the radio-continuum emission properties of the Small Magellanic Cloud based on the high-sensitivity 3 cm map.
• Training or validating source detection algorithms for radio astronomy based on the visually confirmed point source catalog.

Strengths

• Contains 457 confirmed point sources, providing a substantial sample for analysis.
• High sensitivity of 0.8 mJy/beam and resolution of 20 arcseconds for detailed mapping.
• Sources were visually examined to exclude artifacts, suggesting careful curation.

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 2011/2014; newer observations may exist.

Provenance

Source

NASA HEASARC, based on CDS Catalog J_other/Ser/184.93/.

Collection Method

Sources detected from combined ATCA project data using the MIRIAD task 'imsad'.

Time Range

Observational data likely from projects prior to 2011.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 19:31:17.174732; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Covers the Small Magellanic Cloud from 00h 26m to 01h 27m in RA (J2000.0) and from -70° 35' to -75° 21' in Dec (J2000.0).