2MASS

2MASS
Alternative namesTwo Micron All-Sky Survey
Websitewww.ipac.caltech.edu/2mass/
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2MASS J-band image. The brown dwarf 2MASS J17111353+2326333 is highlighted.

The Two Micron All-Sky Survey, or 2MASS, was an astronomical survey of the whole sky in infrared light.[1] It took place between 1997 and 2001, in two different locations: at the U.S. Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory on Mount Hopkins, Arizona, and at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, each using a 1.3-meter telescope for the Northern and Southern Hemisphere, respectively.[2] It was conducted in the short-wavelength infrared at three distinct frequency bands (J, H, and K) near 2 micrometres, from which the photometric survey with its HgCdTe detectors derives its name.[1]

2MASS produced an astronomical catalog with over 300 million observed objects, including minor planets of the Solar System, brown dwarfs, low-mass stars, nebulae, star clusters and galaxies. In addition, 1 million objects were cataloged in the 2MASS Extended Source Catalog (2MASX). The cataloged objects are designated with a "2MASS" and "2MASX"-prefix respectively.

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