IV. 2MASS Data Processing


1. Processing Pipeline Overview

Raw data acquired at the 2MASS observatories is transported to the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC) via DLT tapes. At IPAC, the raw data is reduced using the 2MASS Production Processing System (2MAPPS). 2MAPPS is designed to exploit 2MASS's innovative data acquisition techniques to produce image, point and extended source data.

The 2MAPPS High Level Flowchart (Figure 1) illustrates the basic components of the 2MAPPS system. Data from each 6° 2MASS scan are processed as a unit, with the J, H and Ks frames processed in parallel. In general, data processing within 2MAPPS is a linear process with the output of each step being the input for each subsequent step. Iterations are held to a minimum for efficiency.

Figure 1

The basic processing steps are as follows:

The sections below provide more detailed descriptions of each of these processing phases within 2MAPPS.


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