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K.E. Kearns (U. Wisconsin), C. Gronwall, J.J. Salzer (Wesleyan U.), G. Madsen (U. Wisconsin), KISS Team
The KPNO International Spectroscopic Survey (KISS) has amassed a database of CCD images covering, to date, nearly 200 deg2 of the northern sky. The primary goal is to compile a large, complete sample of emission line galaxies, but this dataset has many other applications. We discuss the construction of a bright field galaxy catalog, and a preliminary study of the low surface brightness detection limit of the images.
The KISS digital field galaxy catalog contains B and V CCD photometry complete to a depth of 19.5 in B for over 70,000 galaxies within an area of 77.5 deg2. We briefly discuss the construction and verification of the catalog, and then present the number counts and color distribution for the sample. We find a higher normalization of the counts and a shallower bright end slope compared to previous studies, consistent with mild luminosity evolution.
In addition to being apparent magnitude-limited, the field galaxy catalog is surface brightness-limited. We have initiated an investigation of this limit in order to estimate its effect on the number counts, and to assess the possibility of extracting a catalog of LSB galaxies from the KISS images. Such a list would be of general interest, since these galaxies are difficult to detect and are therefore under-represented in most catalogs. We have visually selected a sample of about 70 candidate objects and have obtained deep U and R images for eight of these. Six of the eight candidates were detected with the WIYN Imager, and surface photometry in U and R is presented. Implications of these results for the number counts and the proposed LSB catalog are discussed.
KEK acknowledges support for this report from the U. Wisconsin Graduate School.
If the author provided an email address or URL for general inquiries, it is a
s follows:
http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~kearns