The MDW H{\alpha} Sky Survey: Data Release 1

TL;DR

The MDW Hα Sky Survey provides detailed narrow-band imaging of the northern sky, offering calibrated images, catalogs, and initial scientific insights into Hα filament widths and variable sources for academic research.

Contribution

This paper presents the second data release of the MDW Hα Sky Survey, including calibrated images, catalogs, and initial scientific analyses, advancing amateur astronomer-led sky surveys for academic use.

Findings

Typical Hα filament FWHM of 30-45 arcseconds

Matched catalogs with median match distance of 0.5 arcseconds

Identification of Hα variable and excess sources

Abstract

The Mittelman-di Cicco-Walker (MDW) H$\alpha$ Sky Survey is an autonomously-operated all-sky narrow-band (3nm) H$\alpha$ imaging survey. The survey was founded by amateur astronomers and the northern sky (Decl. $\geq$ 0$^\circ$) is presented here in its second stage of refinement for academic use. Each 3.6$\times$3.6 sq. deg MDW field has 12 20-minute individual exposures with a pixel scale of 3.6", a typical PSF of 6", and a stack point source depth of 16-17 magnitudes. The northern MDW Survey Data Release 1 (DR1) includes: calibrated and raw mean and individual images, star-removed mean fields, and point source catalogs for all images matched to Data Release 1 of the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS1) and the INT Galactic Plane Survey (IGAPS). Our initial study of H$\alpha$ filament widths finds a typical FWHM of 30-45" in the Lyra region. The matched catalogs (with a median match distance of ~0.5"), combined with our distinctive narrow-band photometry, are used to identify H$\alpha$ variable and excess sources. These initial studies highlight some of the many scientific uses of the MDW H$\alpha$ survey.