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| SDSS MaNGA | |
|---|---|
| Name | MaNGA |
| Project | Sloan Digital Sky Survey |
| Wavelength | Optical |
| Instrument | IFU spectrographs |
| Telescope | 2.5 m Sloan Foundation Telescope |
| Location | Apache Point Observatory |
| Start | 2014 |
| Status | Completed (survey phase) |
SDSS MaNGA MaNGA (Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory) is a large integral-field spectroscopic survey conducted as part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey program. The survey targeted thousands of nearby galaxies to map spatially resolved kinematics, stellar populations, and ionized gas across galaxy disks and bulges. MaNGA observations were carried out with fiber-bundle integral-field units on the 2.5 m Sloan Foundation Telescope at Apache Point Observatory and form a major component of modern extragalactic and cosmological research.
MaNGA is embedded within the broader Sloan Digital Sky Survey framework and complements projects such as SDSS-III, SDSS-IV, APOGEE, eBOSS, and BOSS. The survey assembled a sample designed to probe galaxy structural diversity including targets drawn from catalogs like the NASA-Sloan Atlas, Two Micron All Sky Survey, and cross-matches with Galaxy Evolution Explorer and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer datasets. MaNGA observations contribute to studies connected to institutions such as Princeton University, Apache Point Observatory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and University of Washington.
MaNGA aimed to answer questions about the formation and evolution of galaxies by measuring resolved stellar kinematics, gas-phase metallicity gradients, and star-formation histories. The survey design targeted representative populations spanning mass, color, and environment drawn from catalogs like the New York University Value-Added Galaxy Catalog and cross-referenced with surveys such as Sloan Digital Sky Survey Main Galaxy Sample. MaNGA used a sample strategy informed by theory groups including researchers associated with Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe to enable analysis comparable to simulations from projects such as Illustris, EAGLE, and FIRE.
Observations employed fiber-bundle integral-field units built to feed the BOSS spectrographs originally developed for Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey. The instrument configuration was mounted on the Sloan Foundation Telescope at Apache Point Observatory and relied on calibration schemes developed with help from groups at University of California, Berkeley and New Mexico State University. MaNGA used different IFU sizes to match galaxy angular extents, following hardware standards influenced by designs from facilities such as Gemini Observatory and European Southern Observatory. Nightly operations interfaced with scheduling and survey planning tools used by teams at Carnegie Observatories and National Optical Astronomy Observatory.
Raw MaNGA data were processed through pipelines adapted from the SDSS data-reduction infrastructure, incorporating algorithms tested by teams at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and University of Chicago. The Data Reduction Pipeline produced flux-calibrated datacubes, sky subtraction, and spectrophotometric calibrations cross-validated against standards from Hubble Space Telescope spectrophotometry and photometric catalogs like Pan-STARRS. Advanced analysis used software developed in collaboration with groups at University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, and Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics to derive maps of velocity, dispersion, stellar age, and metallicity.
MaNGA data releases were distributed through the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Archive and integrated into value-added catalogs developed by teams at Space Telescope Science Institute, Johns Hopkins University, and Yale University. Data products include reduced datacubes, resolved maps, emission-line fits, and spectral indices used by researchers at University of Toronto, University of Michigan, and University of Edinburgh. Public access policies followed models from SDSS Data Release 13 and later releases, enabling reuse by projects associated with the European Space Agency and national observatories including National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.
MaNGA produced high-impact results on radial gradients in metallicity and age, kinematic classifications differentiating rotation- and dispersion-dominated systems, and environmental dependencies of quenching processes. Studies published by investigators from Harvard University, Columbia University, University of California, Santa Cruz, and University of Texas at Austin used MaNGA to test predictions from simulations like IllustrisTNG and to compare with integral-field surveys such as ATLAS3D, CALIFA, and SAMI. Results influenced understanding of feedback from Active galactic nucleuss observed in systems overlapping with Chandra X-ray Observatory and Very Large Array radio studies, and informed mass models cross-checked with lens samples from Sloan Lens ACS Survey.
MaNGA was coordinated by the SDSS collaboration, involving institutions including University of Wisconsin–Madison, University of Portsmouth, University of Utah, and Rutgers University. The collaboration engaged working groups focusing on instrumentation, calibration, and science working groups with membership spanning Max Planck Society, Australian National University, and Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias. Governance and publication policies mirrored practices used in large collaborations such as Herschel Space Observatory consortia and Planck (spacecraft) teams, while training and outreach linked with programs at American Astronomical Society and regional observatories like Kitt Peak National Observatory.
Category:Extragalactic astronomy surveys