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D. Makovoz, F.R. Marleau, D.T. Frayer (SSC, Caltech)
MOPEX (MOsaicking and Point source EXtraction) is a package developed at the Spitzer Science Center for astronomical image processing. We report on the point source extraction capabilities of MOPEX. Point source extraction is implemented as a two step process. Inital detection is done in mosaic images. Non-linear matched filtering can be performed optionally to increase the signal-to-noise ratio and improve detection of faint point sources. Point Response Function (PRF) fitting of point sources produces the final point source list which includes the fluxes and improved positions of the point sources, along with other parameters characterizing the fit. Passive and active deblending allows for successful fitting of confused point sources. Point source fitting can be done in two modes: in a mosaic or in a stack of individual frames. We describe here the mosaic mode of point source fitting. PRF estimation directly from the input data is part of MOPEX capabilities. The package is implemented as a loosely connected set of perl scripts, where each script runs a number of modules written in C/C++. Input parameter setting is done through namelists, ASCII configuration files. Some applications to Spitzer MIPS 24 and 70~\mum mosaic data are presented.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 36 5
© 2004. The American Astronomical Society.