Galaxies in Southern Bright Star Fields I. Near-infrared imaging

TL;DR

This study presents near-infrared imaging of bright star fields to identify faint sources, aiding adaptive optics and cosmological research, with a catalog of stars and galaxies for future astronomical studies.

Contribution

First comprehensive near-infrared survey of bright star fields near the south celestial pole for adaptive optics applications, providing a valuable source catalog.

Findings

Galaxy counts match previous deep field surveys.

Identified 391 stars and 1589 galaxies near bright guide stars.

Fields are suitable for future statistical cosmological studies.

Abstract

As a prerequisite for cosmological studies using adaptive optics techniques, we have begun to identify and characterize faint sources in the vicinity of bright stars at high Galactic latitudes. The initial phase of this work has been a program of K_s imaging conducted with SOFI at the ESO NTT. From observations of 42 southern fields evenly divided between the spring and autumn skies, we have identified 391 additional stars and 1589 galaxies lying at separations 60" from candidate guide stars in the magnitude range 9.0 R 12.4. When analyzed as a "discrete deep field" with 131 arcmin^2 area, our dataset gives galaxy number counts that agree with those derived previously over the range 16 K_s 20.5. This consistency indicates that in the aggregate, our fields should be suitable for future statistical studies. We provide our source catalogue as a resource for users of large telescopes in the southern hemisphere.