WISE 3-Band Cryo Data Release

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012 • Announcement • ipac2012-006

 WISE 3-Band Cryo Data Release is now available. The WISE 3-Band Cryo Release contains 3.4, 4.6 and 12 micron data acquired between August 6 and September 29, 2010 after the solid hydrogen in the satellite's outer cryogen tank was exhausted.

WISE surveyed approximately 30% of the sky during this time while its detectors were cooled by hydrogen ice in its inner cryogen tank.  The telescope warmed from the 12 K maintained during the main mission to 45 K.  During the 3-Band Cryo survey phase, the 3.4 and 4.6 micron detectors operated with nearly the same sensitivity as in the main survey.  Higher operating temperatures and elevated thermal emission from the warming telescope reduced the sensitivity of the 12 micron measurements and fully saturated the 22 micron detector.

The WISE 3-Band Cryo Data Release products include an Atlas of 5,649 match-filtered, calibrated and coadded images, a "Source Working Database" that contains  positions and 3-band photometry for over 261 million detections made on the Atlas Images, and explanatory documentation.  Ancillary data products include an archive of over 329 thousand calibrated single-exposure images and a database of 3.7 billion detections made on those images.

The WISE All-Sky Data Release that included data taken during the mission's main cryogenic survey remains the best compendium of sources of mid-infrared emission over the entire sky.  The 3-Band Cryo Observations are independent, second epoch measurements of 30% of the sky.  Therefore, the 3-Band Cryo Atlas and Source Working Database are resources with which to learn more about objects found in the All-Sky Release Atlas and Catalog, such as proper motion and flux variability of six month timescales, and confirmation of faint sources.

A quick guide to the Release data products, data access instructions and supporting documentation is available at http://wise2.ipac.caltech.edu/docs/release/3band/.

Access to the WISE data products is available via the on-line services of the NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive (http://irsa.ipac.caltech.edu).

Research using WISE data products is eligible for support under the NASA ROSES Astrophysics Data Analysis Program (ADAP).