Article

The Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS)

Michael F. SkrutskieCurrent address: Department of Astronomy, P.O. Box 3818, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903-0818R. M. CutriInfrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125R. StieningDepartment of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003Martin D. WeinbergDepartment of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003Stephen E. SchneiderDepartment of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003John M. CarpenterDepartment of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125Charles BeichmanJet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA 91109R. W. CappsJet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA 91109T. J. ChesterInfrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125J. H. EliasNational Optical Astronomy Observatory, Tucson, AZ 85726J. P. HuchraHarvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138James LiebertDepartment of Astronomy, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721C. J. LonsdaleInfrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125D. G. MonetUS Naval Observatory, Flagstaff Station, Flagstaff, AZ 86002S. PriceAir Force Research Laboratory, Hanscom Air Force Base, MA 01731Patrick SeitzerDepartment of Astronomy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109T. H. JarrettInfrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125J. Davy KirkpatrickInfrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125John E. GizisDepartment of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003Eric HowardDepartment of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003T. EvansInfrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125J. W. FowlerInfrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125L. FullmerInfrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125Robert L. HurtInfrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125R. M. LightDeceased, 1998 May 20E. L. KopanInfrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125K. A. MarshJet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA 91109H. McCallonInfrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125Raymond TamInfrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125Schuyler D. Van DykInfrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125S. WheelockInfrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125

2006en

ABI

Abstract

Between 1997 June and 2001 February the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) collected 25.4 Tbytes of raw imaging data covering 99.998% of the celestial sphere in the near-infrared J (1.25 μm), H (1.65 μm), and Ks (2.16 μm) bandpasses. Observations were conducted from two dedicated 1.3 m diameter telescopes located at Mount Hopkins, Arizona, and Cerro Tololo, Chile. The 7.8 s of integration time accumulated for each point on the sky and strict quality control yielded a 10 σ point-source detection level of better than 15.8, 15.1, and 14.3 mag at the J, H, and Ks bands, respectively, for virtually the entire sky. Bright source extractions have 1 σ photometric uncertainty of <0.03 mag and astrometric accuracy of order 100 mas. Calibration offsets between any two points in the sky are <0.02 mag. The 2MASS All-Sky Data Release includes 4.1 million compressed FITS images covering the entire sky, 471 million source extractions in a Point Source Catalog, and 1.6 million objects identified as extended in an Extended Source Catalog.

Identifiers

DOI: 10.1086/498708

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