SDWFS: Spitzer Infrared Survey of the Boötes Field, 4 Epochs

The Spitzer Deep, Wide-Field Survey (SDWFS) is a four-epoch infrared survey covering 10 square degrees in the Boötes field, conducted using the IRAC instrument on the Spitzer Space Telescope. It consists of 20 band-matched catalogs providing Vega magnitudes at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8 microns, with source coordinates aligned to 2MASS positions. The data was produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as a Spitzer Cycle 4 Legacy project.

Use Cases

• Select infrared-variable objects based on the four-epoch observation strategy.
• Identify high proper motion objects over a wide field using the multi-year timescale data.
• Characterize galaxy evolution beyond z ~ 1.5 based on the survey's sensitivity and large volume.
• Analyze photometric properties of sources using the three provided aperture measurements (4", 6", Kron).

Strengths

• Covers a wide area of 10 square degrees, reducing the impact of cosmic variance for most systems.
• Provides data from four distinct epochs, enabling time-domain analysis over years.
• Source coordinates are aligned to 2MASS catalog positions within 0.2 arcseconds.
• Includes 20 catalogs covering four individual epochs and a total coadd across four infrared bands.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Tabulated uncertainties are reported as twice the SExtractor statistical uncertainties, which is described as an attempt to account for systematics.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Observations from the IRAC instrument on the Spitzer Space Telescope, processed with SExtractor.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 17:16:02.845086; freshness should be verified.

Geography

The Boötes field of the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey.