Digital Sky Survey System (DSS)

The following interfaces are available:

The Digitized Sky Survey comprises a set of all-sky photographic surveys in E, V, J, R, and N bands conducted with the Palomar and UK Schmidt telescopes. The Catalogs and Surveys Branch (CASB) is digitizing the photographic plates to support HST observing programs but also as a service to the astronomical community.

The 6.5-degree x 6.5-degree plates are scanned using a modified PDS microdensitometer to a pixel scale of about 1.7 arcseconds per pixel for the POSS, SERC, and Palomar Quick-V surveys, and to about 1.0 arcseconds per pixel for the POSS-II surveys.

Images of any part of the sky may be extracted from the DSS, in either FITS and JPG format if desired.

To begin an DSS search, select one of the queries in the DSS Queries Menu above.

Plates

The DSS/XDSS plates includes the following surveys:

Survey	Code	Colour	Epoch	Emulsion and filter	Band	Limiting magnitude	Declination range	Number of plates	pixels	GSC (1 or 2)	DSS (1 or 2)	Copyright
POSS-I E	XE	Red	1950-58	103aE	Epg	20.0	+90:-30	936	1.0/1.7"	2	1	STScI
POSS-I O	XO	Blue	1950-58	103aO	Opg	21.0	+90:-30	936	1.0"	2	2	STScI
Pal-QV	N	Blue	1983-85	IIaD +W12	Vpg (POSSII)	19.5	+90:+06	611	1.7"	1+2	2	STScI
POSS-II J	XJ	Blue	1987-98	IIIaJ +GG395 (POSSII)	Jpg (POSSII)	22.5	+90:+00	897	1.0"	2	2	Caltech
POSS-II F	XP	Red	1987-98	IIIaF +RG610	Fpg (POSSII)	20.8	+90:+00	897	1.0"	2	2	Caltech
POSS-II N	XI	Near-IR	1987-02	IV-N +RG9	Ipg (POSSII)	19.5	+90:+00	890	1.0"	2	2	Caltech
SERC-J*	S	Blue	1975-87	IIIaJ +GG395	Jpg	23.0	-20:-90	606	1.7"	1+2	1	ROE
SERC-EJ	S	Blue	1979-88	IIIaJ +GG395	Jpg	23.0	-00:-15	288	1.7"	1+2	1	ROE
AAO-SES	XS	Red	1990-98	IIIaF +OG590	Fpg	22.0	-20:-90	606	1.0"	2	2	AAO
SERC-ER	ER	Red	1984-98	IIIaF +OG590	Fpg	22.0	-00:-15	288	1.0"	2	2	AAO/ROE
AAO-SR	GR	Red	1996-99	IIIaF +OG590	Fpg	22.0	S.Gal.plane	116	1.0"	2	2	AAO
SERC-I	IS	Near-IR	1990-02	IV-N +RG715	Ipg	19.5	-00:-90	894	1.0"	2	2	AAO
SERC-QV	XV	Blue	1986-88	IIaD +GG495	Vpg	14.0	S.Gal.plane	94	1.0/1.7"	1+2	1	ROE
SERC-V and PAL-V	XX	Blue	1979-85	IIIaJ +GG495	Vpg	var.	M31, LMC,SMC	4	1.7"	1+2	1	STScI/ROE

Copyright

Each sky-survey file provided by this network server is copyright under one of the provisions listed below. The specific copyright notice that is pertinent can be identified from the FITS header file.

The "Second Epoch Survey" of the southern sky was made by the Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO) with the UK Schmidt Telescope. Plates from this survey have been digitized and compressed by the STScI. The digitized images are copyright © 1993-1995 by the Anglo-Australian Observatory Board, and are distributed herein by agreement.

The "Equatorial Red Atlas" of the southern sky was made with the UK Schmidt Telescope. Plates from this survey have been digitized and compressed by the STScI. The digitized images are copyright © 1992-1995, jointly by the UK SERC/PPARC (Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council, formerly Science and Engineering Research Council) and the Anglo-Australian Telescope Board, and are distributed herein by agreement.

The compressed files of the "Palomar Observatory - Space Telescope Science Institute Digital Sky Survey" of the northern sky, based on scans of the Second Palomar Sky Survey are copyright © 1993-1995 by the California Institute of Technology and are distributed herein by agreement.

All material not subject to one of the above copyright provisions is copyright © 1995 by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc.

Produced under Contract No. NAS5-26555 with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.