Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 14

Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 14
Name	SDSS DR14
Startdate	2018
Survey	Sloan Digital Sky Survey
Wavelength	Optical, infrared
Operator	Apache Point Observatory, Sloan Foundation

Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 14 Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 14 was a major public release from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey program that provided spectroscopic and imaging data to the international astronomy community, expanding resources for researchers associated with Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Princeton University, University of Washington, University of Chicago and other institutions. The release included datasets produced by collaborations with projects based at Apache Point Observatory, Las Campanas Observatory, Max Planck Society, Carnegie Institution for Science and teams affiliated with Flatiron Institute, enabling work by researchers connected to NASA, European Southern Observatory and national facilities.

Overview

DR14 continued the sequence of SDSS releases following previous deliveries associated with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III and the start of Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV, providing spectroscopic data from instruments and programs run at Apache Point Observatory and data products used by scientists from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, California Institute of Technology and Columbia University. The release supported research areas pursued by investigators funded through agencies such as National Science Foundation, European Research Council, National Aeronautics and Space Administration and project teams linked to observatories including Kitt Peak National Observatory and Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory.

Data Contents and Surveys Included

DR14 aggregated datasets from multiple SDSS-IV components, incorporating spectra and ancillary products from the APOGEE-2 survey, the eBOSS program, and the MaNGA integral-field project, built on infrastructure developed at Brookhaven National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Stanford University and collaborating centers. The release included infrared stellar spectra connected to projects led by groups at University of Virginia and Pennsylvania State University, optical spectroscopy used by teams at University of Arizona and University of Edinburgh, and imaging catalogs cross-matched against surveys run by Pan-STARRS, 2MASS, WISE and partners at Carnegie Mellon University.

Data Access and Tools

DR14 provided access through the SDSS Science Archive Server and the Catalog Archive Server used by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, supported by tools and software maintained by teams from Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, with data query interfaces adopted by groups at University of Michigan, Rutgers University, University of Toronto and University of California, Berkeley. The release included APIs and web applications similar to services used by projects at European Space Agency and analytical toolchains integrable with platforms maintained by Google and Amazon Web Services for large-scale computation by consortia including researchers from University College London and Monash University.

Scientific Highlights and Key Results

DR14 enabled studies of stellar populations and Galactic structure pursued by investigators at University of Texas at Austin, Ohio State University, University of Notre Dame and Leiden University, providing high-resolution spectra that informed work related to teams at Max Planck Institute for Astronomy and Institute for Advanced Study. Cosmological constraints derived from the eBOSS component were used in analyses by collaborators at Princeton University, Fermilab and Brookhaven National Laboratory, complementing results from projects like Dark Energy Survey, Euclid and Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey groups. MaNGA integral-field results supported galaxy evolution research by scientists at University of Tokyo, Australian National University, University of Pittsburgh and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and informed comparative studies involving datasets from Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatory and GALEX teams.

Data Processing and Calibration

DR14 data products were generated by pipelines and reduction software developed by consortia including engineers and scientists affiliated with University of Washington, Yale University, University of Colorado Boulder and National Optical Astronomy Observatory, following calibration strategies comparable to those implemented by groups at Space Telescope Science Institute and National Radio Astronomy Observatory. The release documented spectrophotometric calibrations, radial velocity determinations and sky-subtraction techniques built on methods previously used by teams at University of California, Santa Cruz and University of Wisconsin–Madison, and incorporated improvements informed by collaborations with researchers from Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics and Carnegie Institution for Science.

Community Impact and Usage

DR14 data were widely used by researchers across institutions such as Cornell University, University of British Columbia, University of Bonn, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and University of Hawaii, fueling publications, doctoral theses and survey follow-up programs connected to observatories like Magellan Telescopes and Subaru Telescope. The release supported community-developed value-added catalogs and cross-survey analyses by groups at University of Geneva, University of Porto, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso and Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, and influenced planning for subsequent surveys coordinated with agencies including National Science Foundation and European Southern Observatory.

Category:Astronomical surveys