Spitzer Extragalactic First Look Survey: R-band Source Catalog

Spitzer's 67-hour Extragalactic First Look Survey aimed to characterize faint mid-infrared sources down to sub-millijansky levels. The survey includes 4 square degrees of imaging from the MIPS and IRAC instruments, supplemented by ground-based optical and radio data. This dataset from NASA represents one of the first science observations made by the Spitzer Space Telescope after its Science Verification in November 2003.

Use Cases

• Characterizing faint extragalactic source populations based on sub-millijansky mid-infrared sensitivity
• Cross-matching infrared sources with optical and radio counterparts based on ancillary ground-based data
• Analyzing source properties and distributions across a 4-square-degree field of view

Strengths

• Includes ancillary data from ground-based optical and radio telescopes, providing multi-wavelength context
• Represents a foundational 67-hour survey conducted early in the Spitzer mission's operational phase
• Covers a substantial 4-square-degree area of the sky centered at J1718+5930

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Imaging from the Spitzer Space Telescope's MIPS and IRAC instruments, supplemented by ground-based observations.

Time Range

Observations conducted after Science Verification at the end of November 2003.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 20:06:11.504175; freshness should be verified

Geography

Centered on celestial coordinates J1718+5930.