XGPS: XMM-Newton Galactic Plane X-Ray Source Catalog

Over 400 X-ray sources were resolved in the first phase of the XMM-Newton Galactic Plane Survey, covering approximately 3 square degrees. The table contains results from 22 pointings, revealing source populations in soft and hard X-ray bands with a flux limit of ~2e-14 erg/s/cm². This catalog was created by NASA HEASARC in February 2005 based on CDS data.

Use Cases

• Classifying X-ray source populations based on spectral hardness and flux thresholds described in the survey.
• Studying the influence of interstellar absorption on X-ray spectra as mentioned in the results.
• Analyzing the overlap between soft and hard band source populations noted in the survey findings.
• Modeling low-latitude X-ray source counts over flux decades by combining XGPS data with earlier ASCA and Chandra surveys.

Strengths

• Contains over 400 X-ray sources resolved at >=5-sigma significance.
• Covers a defined region of approximately 3 square degrees between 19 and 22 degrees in Galactic Longitude.
• Provides flux measurements down to a specific limit of ~2 x 10^-14 erg/s/cm² in the 2-10 keV band.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The nature of the faint Galactic population remains uncertain, as noted in the description.

Provenance

Source

NASA HEASARC, based on CDS Catalog J/MNRAS/351/31/tablea1.

Collection Method

Observational data from 22 pointings by the XMM-Newton satellite.

Time Range

Observations from the first phase of the XGPS program; catalog created February 2005.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 18:43:19.000544; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Galactic plane region between 19 and 22 degrees in Galactic Longitude and +/-0.6 degrees in Galactic Latitude.