Previous abstract Next abstract
A two color survey of 9 fields of the first epoch Palomar Sky Survey, centered on the North Galactic Pole, has been performed with the Minnesota Automated Plate Scanner. An innovative automated classification method is used to establish catalogs of stars and galaxies to approximate magnitude limits of O$=20.5$ and E$=20.0$. A variety of global photometric properties are extracted from the O and E galaxy images having an isophotal diameter larger than D($\mu_{B} =24.5$) = 30$''$.
The resultant catalog of galaxy positions, magnitudes, and colors is used to study the large scale distribution of galaxies at the NGP. We investigate methods of computing radial profile and image structure parameters which quantify the larger galaxy images. A multi-dimensional analysis of these quantities is performed using neural network and decision tree algorithms in an effort to perfect a viable galaxy morphology classifier for the APS POSS I material.