The merged source tables contain the mean positions magnitudes and uncertainties for sources detected multiple times in each of the 2MASS data sets. The merging was carried out using an autocorrelation of the respective databases to identify groups of extractions that are positionally associated with each other, all lying within a 1.5" radius circular region. A number of confirmation statistics are also provided in the tables that can be used to test for source motion and/or variability, and the general quality of the merge.

Photometric calibration for 2MASS was performed using observations of calibration fields made at regular intervals during each night of survey operations. Measurements of standard stars in the fields were used to derive the photometric zero point offsets as a function of time during each night. Atmospheric extinction coefficients were derived from 2MASS observations made over long periods.2MASS calibration fields, or tiles, are 1° long in declination and approximately 8.5' wide in right ascension. There are 35 regular survey calibration fields distributed at approximately two hour intervals in right ascension near declinations of approximately -30°, 0° and +30°. An additional five calibration fields were defined in and around the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds to support the deep observation (6x) campaign towards the end of survey operations.Over the course of the survey, the regular calibration fields were scanned between 562 and 3692 times in nominally photometric conditions. Equatorial fields were observed from both observatories, so were observed more frequently than those near ±30° which were observed with only one telescope. The special Magellanic Cloud calibration fields were observed 108 to 468 times between November 2000 and February 2001.The following table contains brief descriptions of the entries in the Survey, 6x and Calibration Merged Point Source Information Tables. The merged source tables contain the mean positions magnitudes and uncertainties for sources detected multiple times in each of the 2MASS data sets. The merging was carried out using an autocorrelation of the respective databases to identify groups of extractions that are positionally associated with each other, all lying within a 1.5" radius circular region. A number of confirmation statistics are also provided in the tables that can be used to test for source motion and/or variability, and the general quality of the merge.

Photometric calibration for 2MASS was performed using observations of calibration fields made at regular intervals during each night of survey operations. Measurements of standard stars in the fields were used to derive the photometric zero point offsets as a function of time during each night. Atmospheric extinction coefficients were derived from 2MASS observations made over long periods.2MASS calibration fields, or tiles, are 1° long in declination and approximately 8.5' wide in right ascension. There are 35 regular survey calibration fields distributed at approximately two hour intervals in right ascension near declinations of approximately -30°, 0° and +30°. An additional five calibration fields were defined in and around the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds to support the deep observation (6x) campaign towards the end of survey operations.Over the course of the survey, the regular calibration fields were scanned between 562 and 3692 times in nominally photometric conditions. Equatorial fields were observed from both observatories, so were observed more frequently than those near ±30° which were observed with only one telescope. The special Magellanic Cloud calibration fields were observed 108 to 468 times between November 2000 and February 2001.The following table contains brief descriptions of the entries in the Survey, 6x and Calibration Merged Point Source Information Tables. The merged source tables contain the mean positions magnitudes and uncertainties for sources detected multiple times in each of the 2MASS data sets. The merging was carried out using an autocorrelation of the respective databases to identify groups of extractions that are positionally associated with each other, all lying within a 1.5" radius circular region. A number of confirmation statistics are also provided in the tables that can be used to test for source motion and/or variability, and the general quality of the merge.

Photometric calibration for 2MASS was performed using observations of calibration fields made at regular intervals during each night of survey operations. Measurements of standard stars in the fields were used to derive the photometric zero point offsets as a function of time during each night. Atmospheric extinction coefficients were derived from 2MASS observations made over long periods.2MASS calibration fields, or tiles, are 1° long in declination and approximately 8.5' wide in right ascension. There are 35 regular survey calibration fields distributed at approximately two hour intervals in right ascension near declinations of approximately -30°, 0° and +30°. An additional five calibration fields were defined in and around the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds to support the deep observation (6x) campaign towards the end of survey operations.Over the course of the survey, the regular calibration fields were scanned between 562 and 3692 times in nominally photometric conditions. Equatorial fields were observed from both observatories, so were observed more frequently than those near ±30° which were observed with only one telescope. The special Magellanic Cloud calibration fields were observed 108 to 468 times between November 2000 and February 2001.The following table contains brief descriptions of the entries in the Survey, 6x and Calibration Merged Point Source Information Tables. The merged source tables contain the mean positions magnitudes and uncertainties for sources detected multiple times in each of the 2MASS data sets. The merging was carried out using an autocorrelation of the respective databases to identify groups of extractions that are positionally associated with each other, all lying within a 1.5" radius circular region. A number of confirmation statistics are also provided in the tables that can be used to test for source motion and/or variability, and the general quality of the merge.

Photometric calibration for 2MASS was performed using observations of calibration fields made at regular intervals during each night of survey operations. Measurements of standard stars in the fields were used to derive the photometric zero point offsets as a function of time during each night. Atmospheric extinction coefficients were derived from 2MASS observations made over long periods.2MASS calibration fields, or tiles, are 1° long in declination and approximately 8.5' wide in right ascension. There are 35 regular survey calibration fields distributed at approximately two hour intervals in right ascension near declinations of approximately -30°, 0° and +30°. An additional five calibration fields were defined in and around the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds to support the deep observation (6x) campaign towards the end of survey operations.Over the course of the survey, the regular calibration fields were scanned between 562 and 3692 times in nominally photometric conditions. Equatorial fields were observed from both observatories, so were observed more frequently than those near ±30° which were observed with only one telescope. The special Magellanic Cloud calibration fields were observed 108 to 468 times between November 2000 and February 2001.The following table contains brief descriptions of the entries in the Survey, 6x and Calibration Merged Point Source Information Tables. The merged source tables contain the mean positions magnitudes and uncertainties for sources detected multiple times in each of the 2MASS data sets. The merging was carried out using an autocorrelation of the respective databases to identify groups of extractions that are positionally associated with each other, all lying within a 1.5" radius circular region. A number of confirmation statistics are also provided in the tables that can be used to test for source motion and/or variability, and the general quality of the merge.

During the final months of 2MASS observatory operations, a campaign of targeted "long exposure" observations was carried out during times when no previously unscanned parts of the sky were available for the main survey. These observations used the same freeze-frame scanning technique employed for the survey, but with READ2-READ1 exposures six times longer than was used for normal survey observations (hence they are referred to as "6x" observations). The 2MASS 6x measurements were intended to probe ~1 magnitude deeper than the main survey in unconfused regions.Approximately 590 deg2 of sky distributed in 30 targeted regions were scanned at least once using the long exposures. Most of this area is concentrated in two large, comprehensive surveys of the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, 383 deg2 and 127 deg2, respectively. Twenty-eight additional smaller fields were mapped in the 6x mode from both observatories, covering targets that include the Pleiades open cluster, galactic star formation complexes, M31, nearby galaxy clusters and the Lockman Hole. The merged source tables contain the mean positions magnitudes and uncertainties for sources detected multiple times in each of the 2MASS data sets. The merging was carried out using an autocorrelation of the respective databases to identify groups of extractions that are positionally associated with each other, all lying within a 1.5" radius circular region. A number of confirmation statistics are also provided in the tables that can be used to test for source motion and/or variability, and the general quality of the merge.

This table is based on the results of the 2MASS Redshift Survey (2MRS), a ten-year project to map the full three-dimensional distribution of galaxies in the nearby universe. The Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) was completed in 2003 and its final data products, including an extended source catalog (XSC), are available online. The 2MASS XSC contains nearly a million galaxies with K_s <= 13.5 mag and is essentially complete and mostly unaffected by interstellar extinction and stellar confusion down to a galactic latitude of |b| = 5 degrees for bright galaxies. Near-infrared wavelengths are sensitive to the old stellar populations that dominate galaxy masses, making 2MASS an excellent starting point to study the distribution of matter in the nearby universe. The authors selected a sample of 44,599 2MASS galaxies with K_s <= 11.75 mag and |b| >= 5 degrees (>= 8 degrees toward the Galactic bulge) as the input catalog for their survey. They obtained spectroscopic observations for 11,000 galaxies and used previously obtained velocities for the remainder of the sample to generate a redshift catalog that is 97.6% complete to well-defined limits and covers 91% of the sky. This provides an unprecedented census of galaxy (baryonic mass) concentrations within 300 Mpc. Earlier versions of their survey have been used in a number of publications that have studied the bulk motion of the Local Group, mapped the density and peculiar velocity fields out to 50 h^-1 Mpc, detected galaxy groups, and estimated the values of several cosmological parameters. Additionally, the authors present morphological types for a nearly complete sub-sample of 20,860 galaxies with K_s <= 11.25 mag and |b| >= 10 degrees. The authors initially selected 45,086 sources which met the following criteria:

 Ks <= 11.75 mag and detected at H, E(B - V) <= 1 mag, |b| >= 5 degrees for 30 degrees < l < 330 degrees, |b| >= 8 degrees otherwise. 

They rejected 324 sources of galactic origin (multiple stars, planetary nebulae, and H II regions) or pieces of galaxies detected as separate sources by the 2MASS pipeline. Additionally, they flagged 314 bona fide galaxies with compromised photometry for reprocessing at a future date. Some of these galaxies have bright stars very close to their nuclei which were not detected by the pipeline. Others are in regions of high stellar density and their center positions and/or isophotal radii have been incorrectly measured by the pipeline. Lastly, some are close pairs or multiples but the pipeline only identified a single object. A detailed explanation of the steps taken to reject and reprocess the flagged galaxies is given in the Appendix of the reference paper. In summary, the final input catalog contained here has 44,599 entries (plotted using black symbols in Figure 1 of the reference paper). In this table, redshifts for 43,533 of the selected galaxies, or 97.6% of the sample, are presented. This table was created by the HEASARC in April 2012 based on an electronic version of Table 3 of the reference paper which was obtained from the ApJS website. This is a service provided by NASA HEASARC .

During the final months of 2MASS observatory operations, a campaign of targeted "long exposure" observations was carried out during times when no previously unscanned parts of the sky were available for the main survey. These observations used the same freeze-frame scanning technique employed for the survey, but with READ2-READ1 exposures six times longer than was used for normal survey observations (hence they are referred to as "6x" observations). The 2MASS 6x measurements were intended to probe ~1 magnitude deeper than the main survey in unconfused regions.Approximately 590 deg2 of sky distributed in 30 targeted regions were scanned at least once using the long exposures. Most of this area is concentrated in two large, comprehensive surveys of the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, 383 deg2 and 127 deg2, respectively. Twenty-eight additional smaller fields were mapped in the 6x mode from both observatories, covering targets that include the Pleiades open cluster, galactic star formation complexes, M31, nearby galaxy clusters and the Lockman Hole. The merged source tables contain the mean positions magnitudes and uncertainties for sources detected multiple times in each of the 2MASS data sets. The merging was carried out using an autocorrelation of the respective databases to identify groups of extractions that are positionally associated with each other, all lying within a 1.5" radius circular region. A number of confirmation statistics are also provided in the tables that can be used to test for source motion and/or variability, and the general quality of the merge.

The 2MASS Survey Point and Extended Source "Reject" Tables (PSRT and XSRT) contain the 843,988,897 point and 943,441 extended source measurements from the Survey WDBs that were not selected for inclusion in the All-Sky Release Catalogs. The characteristics of entries in the Reject Tables differs between scans that were and were not selected for inclusion in the All-Sky Release: In the 10,981 survey scans that were not selected for the All-Sky Release, the Reject Tables contain all point and extended source extractions. These include reliable detections of real astrophysical sources, spurious extractions of low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) events, image artifacts and transients such as cosmic rays and meteor trails. In the 59,731 survey scans that were selected for the All-Sky Release, the Reject Tables contain only those extractions from the Survey WDBs that did not satisfy the source selection criteria used to construct the uniform and reliable All-Sky Release Catalogs. These include detections of faint sources and noise events that are below the Catalog flux and SNR thresholds, and spurious detections of image artifacts and transients. The Reject Tables also contain detections of brighter sources in the overlap regions between adjacent tiles that were removed during the Catalog multiple detection resolution process.

The 2MASS Survey Point and Extended Source "Reject" Tables (PSRT and XSRT) contain the 843,988,897 point and 943,441 extended source measurements from the Survey WDBs that were not selected for inclusion in the All-Sky Release Catalogs. The characteristics of entries in the Reject Tables differs between scans that were and were not selected for inclusion in the All-Sky Release: In the 10,981 survey scans that were not selected for the All-Sky Release, the Reject Tables contain all point and extended source extractions. These include reliable detections of real astrophysical sources, spurious extractions of low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) events, image artifacts and transients such as cosmic rays and meteor trails. In the 59,731 survey scans that were selected for the All-Sky Release, the Reject Tables contain only those extractions from the Survey WDBs that did not satisfy the source selection criteria used to construct the uniform and reliable All-Sky Release Catalogs. These include detections of faint sources and noise events that are below the Catalog flux and SNR thresholds, and spurious detections of image artifacts and transients. The Reject Tables also contain detections of brighter sources in the overlap regions between adjacent tiles that were removed during the Catalog multiple detection resolution process.