Allsky NICER and NICEST extinction maps based on the 2MASS near-infrared survey

Abstract

Extinction remains one of the most reliable methods of measuring column density of nearby Galactic interstellar clouds. The current and ongoing near-infrared surveys enable the mapping of extinction over large sky areas. We produce allsky extinction maps using the 2MASS near-infrared survey. We use the NICER and NICEST methods to convert the near-infrared colour excesses to extinction estimates. The results are presented in Healpix format at the resolutions of 3.0, 4.5, and 12.0 arcmin. The main results of this study are the calculated J-band extinction maps. The comparison with earlier large-scale extinction mappings shows good correspondence but also demonstrates the presence of resolution-dependent bias. A large fraction of the bias can be corrected by using the NICEST method. For individual regions, best extinction estimates are obtained by careful analysis of the local stellar population and the use of the highest resolution afforded by the stellar density. However, the uniform allsky maps should still be useful for many global studies and as the first step into the investigation of individual clouds.

Accepted to A&A

References in corpus (8)

• 2MASS wide field extinction maps - I. The Pipe nebula
• Herschel-Planck dust optical-depth and column-density maps: I. Method description and results for Orion
• Constraining the thick disc formation scenario of the Milky Way
• NICEST, a near-infrared color excess method tailored for small-scale structures
• 2MASS wide field extinction maps: II. The Ophiuchus and the Lupus cloud complexe
• The Structure of Molecular Clouds: I - All Sky Near Infrared Extinction Maps
• Galactic cold cores VI. Dust opacity spectral index
• The SDSS-2MASS-WISE Ten Dimensional Stellar Color Locus

Cited by in corpus (19)

• Cosmic rays, gas and dust in nearby anticentre clouds : I -- CO-to-H2 conversion factors and dust opacities
• A Census of the Stellar Populations in the Sco-Cen Complex
• HI, CO, and Dust in the Perseus Cloud
• A Gaia Survey for Young Stars Associated with the Lupus Clouds
• Cosmic-rays, gas, and dust in nearby anticentre clouds : II -- Interstellar phase transitions and the Dark Neutral Medium
• Bird's eye view of molecular clouds in the Milky Way: I. Column density and star formation from sub-pc to kpc scales
• Molecular envelope around the HII region RCW 120
• Cosmic-rays, gas, and dust in nearby anti-centre clouds : III -- Dust extinction, emission, and grain properties
• External or internal companion exciting the spiral arms in CQ Tau?
• Gas and Dust Properties in the Chamaeleon Molecular Cloud Complex based on the Optically Thick HI
• Interstellar extinction in Orion. Variation of the strength of the UV bump across the complex
• Dust emission, extinction, and scattering in LDN 1642
• Near-infrared extinction with discretised stellar colours
• Dust extinction map of the Galactic plane based on the VVV survey data
• Calibrating Column Density Tracers with Gamma-ray Observations of the $\rho$ Ophiuchi Molecular Cloud
• Optimal extinction measurements - I. Single-object extinction inference
• Widespread subsonic turbulence in Ophiuchus North 1
• Optical polarimetry study of Lambda-Orionis star-forming region
• The Evolutionary Path of Star-Forming Clumps in Hi-GAL