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| MaNGA survey | |
|---|---|
| Name | MaNGA survey |
| Acronym | MaNGA |
| Full name | Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory |
| Type | Integral-field spectroscopy survey |
| Telescope | Sloan Foundation 2.5-meter Telescope |
| Location | Apache Point Observatory |
| Operation | 2014–2020 |
| Principal investigators | David C. Koo; Kevin Bundy |
| Instruments | BOSS spectrographs with fiber-bundle integral-field units |
| Wavelength range | 3600–10300 Å |
| Spectral resolution | R ~ 1400–2600 |
| Sample size | ~10,000 galaxies |
| Data releases | SDSS Data Releases 13–17 |
MaNGA survey The MaNGA survey was a large integral-field spectroscopic program conducted at Apache Point Observatory using the Sloan Foundation 2.5-meter Telescope as part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) IV era. It obtained spatially resolved spectra for thousands of nearby galaxies to map stellar populations, gas kinematics, and chemical abundances across galaxy disks and spheroids. MaNGA tied into a lineage of major surveys and facilities including SDSS-II, SDSS-III, Hubble Space Telescope, James Webb Space Telescope, and ground-based programs such as Keck Observatory and Very Large Telescope that together advanced galaxy evolution studies.
MaNGA was designed to deliver contiguous two-dimensional spectroscopy for a statistically representative sample of nearby galaxies drawn from imaging surveys like Pan-STARRS, GALEX, and WISE. The survey built on prior integral-field efforts such as SAURON, ATLAS3D, and CALIFA while extending to much larger samples, enabling comparisons with classical catalogs like New General Catalogue objects and targets from Two Micron All Sky Survey and Sloan Digital Sky Survey Legacy Survey. MaNGA’s goals connected to theoretical frameworks developed by researchers associated with institutions such as Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, and Princeton University.
MaNGA used hexagonal fiber-bundle integral-field units feeding the BOSS spectrographs originally built for Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey. The instrument configuration provided continuous spatial coverage comparable to instruments on Gemini Observatory and Subaru Telescope but optimized for survey efficiency akin to 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey. Instrument and survey design involved collaborations among teams at University of California, Berkeley, Flatiron Institute, University of Tokyo, Carnegie Institution for Science, and University of Cambridge. The spectral coverage and resolution enabled measurements comparable to archival datasets from Keck/DEIMOS, VLT/MUSE, and Hubble Space Telescope/COS.
Targets were selected from the NASA-Sloan Atlas and parent catalogs associated with SDSS imaging to yield luminosity- and volume-limited samples spanning star-forming and passive populations similar to those in Ursa Major Cluster and Coma Cluster. The final sample included galaxies across morphological classifications familiar from Hubble sequence and cataloged in surveys like Third Reference Catalogue of Bright Galaxies and RC3. Targets ranged from dwarf systems analogous to objects studied at Magellan Telescopes to massive ellipticals akin to those in Virgo Cluster and Fornax Cluster. Selection strategies were informed by work at institutions including University of Chicago, Yale University, University of Washington, and University of Oxford.
Observing operations exploited the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment infrastructure and scheduling practices developed for SDSS-III/BOSS. Nightly calibrations used standard stars and methods shared with projects at European Southern Observatory and National Optical Astronomy Observatory. Data reduction pipelines were developed in collaboration with groups at Brookhaven National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, and University of Pittsburgh. Reduction steps delivered flux-calibrated data cubes, covariance matrices, and value-added catalogs comparable in scope to products from Hubble Legacy Archive and CANDELS teams.
MaNGA produced broad scientific outcomes that intersect with studies by researchers at California Institute of Technology, MIT, Columbia University, University of Toronto, and Stanford University. Key results included spatially resolved star-formation histories relating to processes highlighted in Lambda-CDM cosmology contexts, kinematic decompositions comparable to analyses for Andromeda Galaxy and Milky Way, and metallicity gradients informing chemical evolution models used by teams at Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics and INAF. MaNGA enabled demographic studies of bars and spiral structure similar to classical work by Bertin and Lin and informed feedback and quenching mechanisms explored in simulations run at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Flatiron Institute. Specific discoveries were published by collaborations including researchers affiliated with University of Arizona, Australian National University, University of Cambridge, and ETH Zurich.
MaNGA data were distributed through SDSS data releases including SDSS Data Release 13, SDSS Data Release 14, SDSS Data Release 15, SDSS Data Release 16, and SDSS Data Release 17. The data release model mirrored practices used by Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory teams, providing public access to data cubes, value-added catalogs, and visualization tools developed by contributors at Johns Hopkins University, University of Utah, and University of Wisconsin–Madison.
MaNGA was a multi-institutional collaboration drawing scientists from University of California, Santa Cruz, University of Michigan, University of California, Irvine, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and international partners including European Southern Observatory staff. Its legacy includes methodologies adopted by successor programs and synergies with facilities such as James Webb Space Telescope, Vera C. Rubin Observatory, and Euclid. MaNGA’s dataset continues to support research across institutes like Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, Space Telescope Science Institute, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, and Max Planck Society, influencing galaxy surveys undertaken by consortia such as Dark Energy Survey and 4MOST.
Category:Astronomical surveys