2MASS

2MASS , for Two Micron AlSky Survey ( litt. statement of all the sky with [[wavelength]] of two Micron S) is a Grand statement carried out by the Université of Massachusetts, in collaboration with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the the National Science Foundation and NASA. It was started in 1997 and was finished in 2001, using two automated telescopes of 1,3 Mètre of Diamètre especially built for this purpose, one located in the northern hemisphere (Observatoire of the Mount Hopkins, Arizona), the other in the southern hemisphere (Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory, Chile). The data collected were finalized in 2003. It is about the second Grand statement carried out in this field wavelength after the statement TMASS, realized in 1969. The project was directed by the Astronome Michael Skrutskie

The 2MASS project completely charted the sky in the bands J (centered on 1,25 μm), H (1,65 μm) and K (2,17 μm), that is to say in the vicinity of 2 microns, from where the name of the project, also inspired of the nickname of the university of Massachusets ( UMass ). The Magnitude limits statement is close to 14,5, its resolution is of 2 seconds of arc. Its sensitivity is approximately 80  000 times higher than the preceding statement in this field wavelength.

Among the scientific objectives of the projects, appeared:

• the detection of dwarf brown, much more luminous in the bands J, H, K that in visible the
• the cartography of the observable Universe in the directions of the galactic , extremely opaque Plane in the visible field because of absorption of the interstellar Environment

The data collected were treated automatically with the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC) of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Two catalogs were elaborate, one counting of the point sources (star S, Quasar S), the other of the wide sources (Galaxie S, Nébuleuse S). The catalog of the poncutelles sources counts nearly 470 million objects (470  992  970 objects exactly), that of the wide sources more than one million and half of objects (1  647  599 exactly). These two catalogs are from now on in free access for the Scientific community.

External bonds

• 2MASS Project at the university of Massachusetts
• 2MASS Project with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• Catalog of the point sources of 2MASS, with the Data center astronomical of Strasbourg
• Catalog of the wide sources of 2MASS, on the site of the IPAC