NSSDCA ID: ASIR-00051
Availability: Archived at NSSDC, accessible from elsewhere
Time span: 1989-12-11 to 1990-09-21
Most of the information in the DIRBE Calibrated Annual File (DCAF) is repeated in the DIRBE Sky and Zodi Atlas (DSZA). However, the DSZA also includes estimates of the zodiacal light (thermal emission and scattered light from the interplanetary dust) intensity, which can be compared directly with, or subtracted from, the DIRBE measurements. For example, using the DSZA, one can readily compare the apparent time variability of the sky, as observed by the DIRBE, with that of the DIRBE interplanetary dust model (Kelsall et al. 1998, ApJ, submitted), or construct sky maps like the ZSMA maps using different data selection criteria (e.g., maps based on data obtained during different weeks in the cryogenic mission). The DSZA is accompanied by a pixel index and organized in the same fashion as the DCAF. Data and model intensities from all 10 full-intensity wavelength bands appear in the DSZA.
The zodiacal light intensities recorded in the DSZA were subtracted week by week and the residual intensity values were averaged to create the ZSMA Maps, which give the best available picture of the Galactic and extragalactic diffuse infrared emission on degree or coarser angular scales. In many applications, the ZSMA Maps will supersede the Annual Average sky Maps. Like the Annual Average Maps, the ZSMA Maps are provided in ten FITS binary tables, one each at 1.25, 2.2, 3.5, 4.9, 12, 25, 60, 100, 140 and 240 microns. Each row of the FITS table corresponds to a DIRBE pixel. One zodiacal light-subtracted intensity value, representing an average over the cryogenic mission, is given per pixel.
Questions and comments about this data collection can be directed to: Dr. David T. Leisawitz
Name | Role | Original Affiliation | |
---|---|---|---|
Dr. Michael G. Hauser | Data Provider | Space Telescope Science Institute | hauser@stsci.edu |