2MASS Final Ophiuchus Extinction Map

Description: Extinciton maps made from 2MASS and NICER (Near Infrared Extinction-method Revisited). This map is made from the final 2MASS data release and cover all of Ophiuchus. The data values are magnitudes of visual extinction (Av). At the center of the cloud (high extinction) there is a small hole, and a few other defects are present, including a spot due to Antares. Consult the error map and stellar density map to identify these regions. Versions in galactic and equatorial coordinates are provided. The equatorial versions look less smooth, since they were regridded without re-orientating pixels. FITS headers for all these files occasionally refuse to play nicely with certain programs, but all display correctly in something like DS9. Telescope: 2MASS Status: Finished Sampling: N/A Areal Coverage: 9 by 8 degrees Map Center (Galactic): l = 355.54 b = +15.55 Map Center (J2000): RA = 16:37:43 Dec = -23:28:47 Comments on Resolution: The map is smoothed with a gaussian filter with FWHM = 3 arcminutes or two pixels, so eac h pixel is 1.5 arcminutes.