Home · Science · Sep 7 archive
The 20th data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
Developing
In Short: The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), the largest multi-spectral imaging and spectroscopic redshift survey of the cosmos, has just made its twentieth data release (DR 20), according to reports.
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), the largest multi-spectral imaging and spectroscopic redshift survey of the cosmos, has just made its twentieth data release (DR 20), according to reports. This latest release marks the third phase of SDSS-V and represents a major operational expansion of the legacy established with prior releases.
Dr. Anne-Marie Weijmans, a researcher at the University of St Andrews and the SDSS Data Products Coordinator, emphasized the survey's accessibility, stating, 'We want everyone to make use of the SDSS data products, whether they are a professional astronomer doing their research, a student learning how to work with data, a teacher looking for classroom material, or someone who is just interested in astronomy in general.
This latest release accelerates the SDSS's transition into a massive international project of multi-wavelength, multi-epoch optical and infrared observations of both hemispheres by multiple observatories. It expands SDSS's efforts by delivering the first optical spectra from the Southern Hemisphere, all-sky panoptic spectroscopy from both hemispheres, and part of the panoptic spectroscopic map planned for the ongoing SDSS-V survey.
Credit: Swinburne University/Sam Moorfield/WiggleZ Team Like previous data releases, the DR20 includes newly reduced spectroscopic data from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) obtained through February 2nd, 2025, from both hemispheres, combined with spectroscopic data from all previous SDSS phases. The SDSS also provides numerous platforms for interaction with the data, offering examples and tutorials for each platform.
What's confirmed
What's still developing
- When it first started in 2000, the SDSS was an optical/spectral survey of the Northern Hemisphere conducted solely by the 2.5-meter Sloan Foundation Telescope.
- That is why we have so many different platforms for people to interact with the data, and we take care to provide numerous examples and tutorials for each of these.
Sources
- Universe Todaylink