YSOVAR: Spitzer Telescope Infrared Light Curves of Young Stellar Objects

YSOVAR (Young Stellar Object VARiability) is a Spitzer Space Telescope program that obtained mid-infrared time series photometry for the Orion Nebula Cluster and 11 other star-forming cores. The dataset contains light curves for approximately 29,000 unique objects in the 3.6 and 4.5 micron IRAC channels. Initial results were described by Morales-Calderon et al. in 2011, with data reduction details published by Rebull et al. in 2014.

Use Cases

• Modeling stellar variability patterns based on mid-infrared light curves.
• Identifying and classifying young stellar objects based on their infrared time-series behavior.
• Comparing variability characteristics across different star-forming regions like Orion and NGC 2264.
• Training machine learning models for anomaly detection in astronomical time-series data.

Strengths

• Contains light curves for approximately 29,000 unique astronomical objects.
• Provides the first extensive mid-infrared time series photometry for the targeted star-forming regions.
• Data reduction and conventions are documented in a peer-reviewed publication (Rebull et al. 2014).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data format is listed as BIN, which may require specialized tools for access and analysis.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Observational data from the Spitzer Space Telescope's IRAC instrument.

Time Range

Observation period not specified in the provided metadata.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 17:19:15.366326; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Targets include the Orion Nebula Cluster, AFGL 490, NGC 1333, Mon R2, GGD 12-15, NGC 2264, L1688, Serpens Main, Serpens South, IRAS 20050+2720, IC 1396A, and Ceph C.