II. User's Guide to the 2MASS All-Sky Data Release

5. Extended Source Postage Stamp Images

Small cut-outs of the non-compressed J, H and K_s Atlas Images around each of the XSC sources in the All-Sky Release are available online. The Postage Stamp Image sizes are scaled to the size of the object, ranging from 21´´ × 21´´ for the faintest galaxies (K_s > 13 mag) to a maximum of 301´´ × 301´´. An example is seen at right. For galaxies larger than 301´´, it is best to use the 2MASS Large Galaxy ATLAS, which consists of full mosaiced images and photometry of the largest galaxies in the sky.

The 2MASS Extended Source Postage Stamp Images are 6-dimensional FITS image cubes. Each plane contains the J, H and K_s 2MASS image data, respectively, with stars removed from the final 3 planes. The near-infrared background emission has been subtracted from each image plane. Positional and photometric calibration information are included in the image header. An example image header is given in Table 1.

[Last Updated: 2002 Oct 30; by T. Jarrett]