SDWFS: Spitzer Infrared Survey of the Boötes Field for Galaxy Evolution

Four-epoch infrared survey of 10 square degrees in the Boötes field, permitting the first wide-field selection of infrared-variable objects on timescales of years. The Spitzer Cycle 4 Legacy project data is sensitive to galaxies out to redshift ~3 with reduced cosmic variance impact. Catalogs from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration report Vega magnitudes in four IRAC bands with multiple aperture measurements.

Use Cases

• Selecting infrared-variable objects based on the four-epoch survey design mentioned in the description
• Characterizing galaxy evolution beyond redshift ~1.5 based on the survey's large volume and sensitivity
• Identifying high proper motion objects based on the multi-epoch infrared data
• Analyzing photometric properties using the reported Vega magnitudes in four IRAC bands (3.6, 4.5, 5.8, 8 microns)

Strengths

• Covers a 10 square degree area in the Boötes field, providing a wide-field infrared survey
• Consists of four observational epochs, enabling time-domain analysis over years
• Source coordinates are matched to 2MASS catalog positions within 0.2 arcsec accuracy
• Provides 20 band-matched catalogs across four epochs and a total coadd

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Observations from the IRAC instrument on the Spitzer Space Telescope, a Cycle 4 Legacy project.

Time Range

Coverage spans four observational epochs, but specific dates are not provided.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 17:49:41.559477; freshness should be verified

Geography

Observations cover 10 square degrees in the Boötes field of the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey.