Small Magellanic Cloud XMM-Newton X-Ray Point Source Catalog, 2000-2010

The Small Magellanic Cloud survey provides X-ray data covering 6.32 square degrees of the bar and eastern wing. This catalog contains 3,053 unique X-ray point sources, including 49 confirmed high-mass X-ray binaries and 72 active galactic nuclei, detected in 100 observations between April 2000 and April 2010. It was produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration using the XMM-Newton satellite.

Use Cases

• Classifying X-ray source types based on hardness ratios and multi-wavelength properties mentioned in the description.
• Analyzing X-ray luminosity functions and spatial distributions of point sources in the Small Magellanic Cloud.
• Studying time variability of X-ray sources from multi-epoch observations, with some fields observed up to 36 times.
• Identifying candidate high-mass X-ray binaries, super-soft sources, and active galactic nuclei from the catalog's classifications.

Strengths

• Contains 3,053 unique X-ray point sources with a median position uncertainty of 1.3 arcseconds.
• Includes multi-epoch data for 927 sources, enabling variability studies.
• Sources are classified using X-ray hardness ratios, variability, and multi-wavelength properties, with 49 confirmed HMXBs and 72 AGN.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect temporal bias inherent to the specific observation windows between 2000 and, 2010.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Observations from the XMM-Newton satellite survey, reduced from 5,236 individual detections.

Time Range

April 2000 to April 2010

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 18:47:45.565878; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Small Magellanic Cloud (bar and eastern wing)