| Product | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | Year 6 | Year 7 | Year 8 | Year 9 | Year 10 | Year 11 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a. Single-Exposure Images | 2,497,867 image sets | 2,620,899 image sets | 2,599,344 image sets | 2,565,705 image sets | 2,524,881 image sets | 2,512,443 image sets | 2,522,253 image sets | 2,506,567 image sets | 2,507,705 image sets | 2,488,285 image sets | 1,542,217 image sets | 26,888,166 image sets |
| b. Single-Exposure Source Database | 18,468,575,596 detections | 19,691,230,571 detections | 19,631,135,692 detections | 19,098,199,664 detections | 18,795,708,783 detections | 18,717,323,537 detections | 18,784,693,939 detections | 18,670,169,668 detections | 18,651,557,958 detections | 18,371,369,954 detections | 10,882,455,791 detections | 199,762,421,143 detections |
| c. Moving Object Tracklets * | 139,843 detections of 10,470 solar system objects, confirmed by the IAU MPC. | 159,763 detections of 11,843 solar system objects, confirmed by the IAU MPC. | 161,336 detections of 12,201 solar system objects, confirmed by the IAU MPC. | 158,797 detections of 12,031 solar system objects, confirmed by the IAU MPC. | 157,329 detections of 12,271 solar system objects confirmed by the IAU MPC. | 157,014 detections of 12,205 solar system objects confirmed by the IAU MPC. | 155,815 detections of 12,177 solar system objects confirmed by the IAU MPC. | 152,433 detections of 11,884 solar system objects confirmed by the IAU MPC. | 156,772 detections of 12,089 solar system objects confirmed by the IAU MPC. | 153,695 detections of 11,792 solar system objects confirmed by the IAU MPC. | 79,769 detections of 6,788 solar system objects confirmed by the IAU MPC. | 1,632,566 detections of 45,597 solar system objects, confirmed by the IAU MPC. |
| d. Known Solar System Object Possible Association List ** | 14,383,217 entries corresponding to 563,059 asteroids, comets, planets and planetary satellites | 15,797,095 entries corresponding to 614,685 asteroids, comets, planets and planetary satellites | 16,465,465 entries corresponding to 648,632 asteroids, comets, planets and planetary satellites | 16,813,681 entries corresponding to 665,251 asteroids, comets, planets and planetary satellites | 17,655,613 entries corresponding to 705,674 asteroids, comets, planets and planetary satellites | 18,171,530 entries corresponding to 734,173 asteroids, comets, planets and planetary satellites | 22,236,543 entries corresponding to 891,903 asteroids, comets, planets and planetary satellites | 27,059,459 entries corresponding to 1,101,811 asteroids, comets, planets and planetary satellites | 29,148,362 entries corresponding to 1,192,994 asteroids, comets, planets and planetary satellites | 31,121,002 entries corresponding to 1,247,887 asteroids, comets, planets and planetary satellites | 21,182,371 entries corresponding to 1,085,164 asteroids, comets, planets and planetary satellites | 230,034,302 entries corresponding to 1,610,330 asteroids, comets, planets and planetary satellites |
The NEOWISE Single-Exposure images consist of photometrically and astrometrically calibrated 1016x1016 pix at 2.75"/pix FITS image sets for each individual NEOWISE exposure. Each image set consists of:
The NEOWISE Single-exposure Image archive contains 26,888,166 image sets that were acquired during survey operations, 13 December 2013 to 1 August 2024 UTC.
A general description of the Single-Exposure Image sets is presented in III.1. Directions for accessing the Single-Exposure Image products are given in I.5. The processing method and algorithms used to produce the Single-Exposure images and how they differ from those used for the full cryogenic mission phase images are described in IV.2.a.
All of the Single-exposure Images acquired by NEOWISE and that completed processing are made available regardless of their quality. Users are strongly encouraged to read the Cautionary Notes for the Single-exposure Images, and the Advice on Using the Single-exposure Image Products before using them in your research.
Metadata tables that contain basic image information, including positions, observation times, pixel statistics and measurement quality metadata are also provided. Descriptions for these tables are given in III.1.c and III.1.d.
The Single-exposure Source Database is a compendium of position and flux information for source detections made on the individual NEOWISE 7.7s W1 and W2 Single-exposure images. Because NEOWISE scanned the same region of the sky many times, the Single-exposure Database contains multiple, independent measurements of objects. Positions, magnitudes in the two NEOWISE bands, astrometric and photometric uncertainties, flags indicating measurement quality, the time of observations and associations with the AllWISE Source Catalog and 2MASS Point Source Catalog are presented for entries in the Database.
The NEOWISE Single-exposure Source Database contains 199,762,421,143 source measurements made during survey operations, 13 December 2013 to 1 August 2024 UTC.
The general characteristics and detailed column descriptions of the Single-Exposure Source Database are presented in II.1. Access instructions for the Single-Exposure Source Database are given in I.5. Descriptions of the source detection and photometry algorithms used to generate the Single-exposure Database and how they differ from those used to generate the Single-exposure Database from the original WISE mission can be found in IV.1.
In addition to detections of solar system, galactic and extragalactic sources, the Single-exposure Database also includes spurious detections of low SNR noise excursions, transient events such as cosmic ray strikes and noisy pixels, and artifacts and scattered light from bright sources including the moon. Therefore, the Database should be used with caution. Users are strongly encouraged to read the Cautionary Notes and Advice for Using the Single-exposure Source Database to understand its features and limitations.
NEOWISE Moving Object Tracklets are sets of linked positions and observation times of solar system small bodies, i.e., asteroids, comets, planets, and planetary satellites that are identified by the WISE Moving Object Pipeline system (WMOPS; IV.3) data processing. Candidate tracklets are reported to the IAU Minor Planet Center (MPC) within an average of 3 days following the midpoint of the NEOWISE detections. These candidates are vetted by MPC, so confirmed tracklets retrieved from the MPC constitute a highly reliable collection of detections linked to both previously known solar system objects, and objects discovered by NEOWISE.
By the end of the survey operations, NEOWISE amassed 1,632,566 * confirmed infrared detections of 45,597 * different small bodies.
* These totals, and those given in row c of Table 1, include additional confirmed NEOWISE detections of 415 objects that were recovered manually by searching the Single-exposure Source Database near the predicted of positions of known Near Earth asteroids that were not found via the automated WMOPS processing. The search for and confirmation of these additional detections are described in Masiero et al. (2018, AJ, 156, 60) and Masiero et al. (2020, PSJ, 1, 9).
Note also that detection counts are approximate. They are subject to change continuously because new NEOWISE tracklet candidates are reported to the MPC three times per week, and because the MPC continues to link NEOWISE detections with new observations. The number of unique detected objects presented here may be slightly overestimated because of duplication between the designations of numbered and unnumbered asteroids in the MPC observation databases.
A description of updates to the WMOPS for NEOWISE data processing is given in IV.3. Instruction for accessing NEOWISE Moving Object Tracklet information from the MPC is given in IV.3.c.iii.
The NEOWISE Known Solar System Object Possible Association List (KSSOPAL) contains a listing of asteroids, comets, planets and planetary satellites, with orbits known at the time of NEOWISE data processing, that are predicted to be within the field-of-view at the time of individual NEOWISE Single-exposures. If the predicted position of a solar system object is in close proximity to a detection in the corresponding NEOWISE Single-exposure, the NEOWISE detection position and brightness information are also provided.
The positions of individual objects are usually observed multiple times, so most objects have multiple entries in the List. The KSSOPAL contains 230,034,302 entries that correspond to 1,610,330 different solar system objects whose positions were observed during the NEOWISE survey. The increase in the number of solar system objects in the FOV each year reflects the increase in number of small body discoveries each year and not anything fundamental about the NEOWISE survey.
** The KSSOPAL is not a vetted list of solar system object detections. Most solar system objects observed by NEOWISE are not detected. Even among the KSSOPAL entries with NEOWISE Source Database detections nearby, the majority are chance associations with background sources or spurious noise or artifact detections. For a reliable, well-vetted list of NEOWISE solar system object detections, please use the Moving Object Tracklets. For comparison, the Minor Planet Center observation database contains 1,632,566 confirmed NEOWISE detections of solar system bodies.
The KSSOPAL column descriptions are given in IV.2.e.i. The algorithms used to predict known solar system object positions and updates made for NEOWISE processing are described in IV.2.e. Instructions for accessing the KSSOPAL are given in I.5.
Last update: 11 November 2024