allwise

AllWISE is a NASA astronomical data release that combines data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and its NEOWISE mission phase to produce an all-sky infrared source catalog and image atlas. The project was developed and released by the NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive (IRSA) in 2013, with the aim of maximizing sensitivity and sky coverage by co-adding observations from multiple years and epochs.

The data products available in AllWISE include a catalog of sources detected in the four WISE infrared bands (W1, W2, W3, and W4) and corresponding image data gathered over the combined WISE cryogenic and post-cryogenic/NEOWISE observations. AllWISE provides photometry across multiple epochs, improved astrometric accuracy, and more reliable source matching across bands compared with earlier releases. The four bands cover roughly 3.4, 4.6, 12, and 22 micrometers, enabling a wide range of astrophysical studies, from cool stars and brown dwarfs to active galaxies and solar system objects.

AllWISE represents an iterative, deeper reprocessing of the WISE data, yielding a larger and more complete catalog and better-characterized astronomical measurements. It superseded the initial WISE All-Sky release by incorporating additional observations and refined calibrations, enhancing the ability to detect faint sources and measure proper motions.

Access to AllWISE data is provided through IRSA, where researchers can query the AllWISE Source Catalog, browse image data, and download products for scientific analysis. The release has been widely used for studies of brown dwarfs, distant galaxies, AGN, and solar system objects, and remains a foundational resource for mid-infrared astronomy.