SDWFS: Spitzer Infrared Survey of the Boötes Field Across Four Epochs

Four-epoch infrared survey of 10 square degrees in the Boötes field, permitting the selection of variable and high proper motion objects over timescales of years. The Spitzer Cycle 4 Legacy project delivers 20 band-matched catalogs with Vega magnitudes for four IRAC wavelengths. Its large survey volume is sensitive to galaxies out to z ~ 3 with reduced cosmic variance impact.

Use Cases

• Identify infrared-variable objects based on multi-epoch observations over years.
• Select high proper motion objects using the four-epoch survey design.
• Characterize galaxy evolution beyond z ~ 1.5 based on the survey's sensitivity and large volume.
• Perform photometric analysis using Vega magnitudes reported for 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8 micron bands.

Strengths

• Covers a 10 square degree field, providing a wide-area infrared survey.
• Includes data from four distinct epochs, enabling time-domain analysis.
• Reports source coordinates aligned to 2MASS catalog positions within 0.2 arcsec.
• Provides photometry from three measurement apertures (4", 6", and Kron radius) for each source.

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 estimated as twice the SExtractor statistical uncertainties, which may not fully characterize systematics.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 16:42:35.206901; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Observations target the Boötes field of the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey.