Principal Galaxies Catalogue

Principal Galaxies Catalogue
Name	Principal Galaxies Catalogue
Language	English
Subject	Astronomy
Pub date	1989
Media type	Catalog

Contents

Principal Galaxies Catalogue

The Principal Galaxies Catalogue is an astronomical compilation that lists thousands of nearby and distant galaxy entries used by observatories and surveys. It serves as a cross-reference between major surveys and observatories such as Palomar Observatory, Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, Arecibo Observatory, European Southern Observatory, and facilities tied to projects like Two Micron All Sky Survey and Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Compilers relied on measurements from instruments associated with institutions including Royal Greenwich Observatory, Harvard College Observatory, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, and databases maintained by organizations such as International Astronomical Union and Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg.

Overview

The catalogue provides standardized entries for galaxies observed in optical, infrared, and radio bands by projects like Infrared Astronomical Satellite, William Herschel Telescope, Very Large Array, Hubble Space Telescope, and the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA Survey. Compilers incorporated historical records from catalogues such as New General Catalogue, Index Catalogue, Third Reference Catalogue of Bright Galaxies, UGC (Uppsala General Catalogue), and lists produced by observatories including Lowell Observatory and Mount Wilson Observatory. The work intersects with legacy surveys associated with figures and institutions like Fritz Zwicky, Edwin Hubble, Herbert Curtis, J. L. E. Dreyer, and teams at Yerkes Observatory.

Data fields include positions anchored to reference frames defined by International Celestial Reference Frame standards adopted by bodies like International Astronomical Union General Assembly and used by missions such as Hipparcos. Photometric and morphological information derives from sources connected to Palomar Observatory Sky Survey, Digitized Sky Survey, Two-degree Field Galaxy Redshift Survey, and redshift measurements tied to instruments at Kitt Peak National Observatory and Anglo-Australian Telescope. Cross-referenced parameters often rely on velocity data measured in programs associated with Arecibo Observatory, Parkes Observatory, Green Bank Telescope, and spectroscopic follow-up conducted at Keck Observatory and Very Large Telescope. The catalogue collates morphological classifications influenced by schemes from Edwin Hubble and classification efforts at Royal Observatory, Edinburgh.

Entries include cross-identifications with established lists such as NGC (New General Catalogue), IC (Index Catalogue), Messier Catalogue, UGC (Uppsala General Catalogue), PGC (Principal Galaxies Catalogue) identifiers used in external databases, and links to surveys like Sloan Digital Sky Survey and Two Micron All Sky Survey. Cross-matching draws on coordinate systems standardized by organizations such as International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service and archival services at Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg and NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. The practice of cross-identification aids researchers working at facilities such as European Southern Observatory, National Optical Astronomy Observatory, and teams led from institutions like Max Planck Institute for Astronomy and Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.

The original release was followed by errata and supplementary releases coordinated with data centers like Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg and integrated into resources maintained by NASA. Subsequent updates took into account results from campaigns at observatories including Palomar Observatory, Keck Observatory, Very Large Telescope, and surveys such as Sloan Digital Sky Survey and Two Micron All Sky Survey. Modern cross-references incorporate archival products hosted by institutions like Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Max Planck Society, and projects supported by agencies including European Space Agency and National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Astronomers use the catalogue for target selection in programs at Hubble Space Telescope, James Webb Space Telescope, Very Large Telescope, and radio campaigns at Very Large Array and Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array. It supports studies of large-scale structure linked to surveys such as Sloan Digital Sky Survey, 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey, and cosmological analyses related to work by groups at Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge and California Institute of Technology. The catalogue underpins multiwavelength studies combining data from Infrared Astronomical Satellite, ROSAT, Chandra X-ray Observatory, and observatories like Subaru Telescope and Gemini Observatory.

Completeness is constrained by the depth and sky coverage of contributing surveys such as Palomar Observatory Sky Survey, Two Micron All Sky Survey, and radio surveys at Arecibo Observatory and Parkes Observatory. Limitations arise from historical biases tied to observing programs at Palomar Observatory, Yerkes Observatory, and northern-hemisphere facilities like Green Bank Observatory, as well as resolution limits of photographic plate campaigns led by organizations including Royal Greenwich Observatory. Subsequent incompleteness was addressed only partially by follow-up surveys conducted with instrumentation at Keck Observatory, Very Large Telescope, and space missions like Hubble Space Telescope and Infrared Space Observatory.

Category:Astronomical catalogues