Pottering around in the astronomical garden - paper 13

Ultra-cool objects in the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)

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METHOD

Ultra-cool WISE objects - characterised by brightness W4 > W3 > W2 > W1 - were downloaded and the results processed according to the system outlined below. Only objects where w1mpro >8 and w1mpro <15.6 and w2mpro >7 and w2mpro <14.3 and w3mpro >4 and w3mpro <10.2 and w4mpro >0 and w4mpro <6.5 and where w1snr >10 and w2snr >10 and w3snr >10 and w4snr >10 were considered.

1. Where passive or active deblanding (flags nb and na) had taken place the results were deleted.
2. Where there was contamination or confusion in the image (flag cc_flags) the results were deleted.
3. All results were the photometric quality was not AAAA (flag ph_qual or where the source shape was not consistent with a point source (flag ext_flg were deleted

Click here to download details of these ultra cool objects.

NOTEWORTHY RESULTS

The WISE database attempts to match listed objects with 2MASS objects. It is interesting, and perhaps significant, that the colour/colour diagrams for matching and non-matching objects are very different..

The main focus for subsequent study was those objects towards the bottom left-hand corner of the (W2-W3) v (W1-W2) graph since previous projects had shown that these was where stars (rather than galaxies or quasars) were concentrated. Of the objects that could be matched (at a 10 arcsec radius) to objects already listed in Simbad the largests numbers were "emission line stars", " T Tau type stars", "variable stars of Orion type" or "Young Stellar Objects".

Important Note

Over the last few years I have carried out many astronomical data mining or data analysis projects. Most remain unpublished and this series of papers aims to put them all into the public domain. I welcome constructive feedback from readers and encourage colleagues to take the work forward, perhaps as far as peer reviewed publication. I can be contacted by email. and this address is monitored daily.

Martin Piers Nicholson - Shropshire, United Kingdom.

This page was last updated on July 29th 2011.