JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) released two types of data that was taken by AKARI infrared satellite. Data released this time was two types; One is the point source catalog including photometric results in 5 infrared bands of 660,286 sources in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The other is the near-infrared spectral catalog of 1,757 sources in the LMC. The point source catalog is one of the most comprehensive catalogs in the LMC, and the spectral catalog is the first ever provided in the world.

The Large Magellanic Cloud is the closest neighbor galaxy, which is about 160,000 light years away from our Milky Way, and various studies on the birth and evolution of stars have been conducted. These two new catalogs of Akari are expected to propel more accurate classification and identification of sources in the LMC. Two articles will be published in American scientific journal The Astronomical Journal in December 2012 and February 2013 editions.

More information (Japanese)

[Contact]

Associate Professor Issei Yamamura

Institute of Space and Astronautical Science

TEL: +81-42-759-8211

E-mail: yamamura*ir.isas.jaxa.jp (Replace * with @)

Assistant Professor Yoshifusa Ita

Tohoku University Astronomical Institute

TEL: +81-22-795-6777

E-mail: yita*astr.tohoku.ac.jp (Replace * with @)