Digitized Sky Survey - Versions and Source Material

Versions and Source Material

The term Digitized Sky Survey originally referred to the publication in 1994 of a digital version of an all-sky photographic atlas. For the northern sky, the National Geographic Society - Palomar Observatory Sky Survey provided almost all of the source data. For the southern sky, the Southern Sky Atlas and its Equatorial Extension (together known as the SERC-J) and the southern Galactic Plane survey (SERC-V), from the UK Schmidt Telescope at Anglo-Australian Observatory, were used. The publication of a digital version of these photographic collections has subsequently become known as the First Generation DSS.

After the original 1994 publication, more digitizations were made and released as the Second Generation DSS. They include the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey II, made with the Oschin Schmidt Telescope at Palomar Observatory for the northern sky. Sources for the southern sky included the 'Galactic Red' survey, the Equatorial Red Survey, and the Second Epoch Survey, all made with the UK Schmidt Telescope at Anglo-Australian Observatory.