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For convenience in studying Galactic phenomena, the sky survey data (three sky coverages) within 10° of the Galactic plane were reprojected from the 16.5° x 16.5° Sky Flux Plates into Galactic coordinates. An equal-area cylindrical projection was used. Each coverage is represented as a set of twenty-four 16.7° x 20° fields (499 x 599 pixels stored in FITS format) with field centers at integral multiples of 15° Galactic longitude. The 2' x 2' pixel size is the same as that of the Sky Flux Plates, however the remapping resulted in a slight degradation in resolution relative to the original 4' - 6'. For more information, see the Explanatory Supplement.

The Galactic Plane Maps have been superseded by the ISSA Galactic Plane Mosaics. The processing for the ISSA images included a superior destriping algorithm as well as subtraction of a model for the zodiacal intensity.

Note: A special high-resolution set of maps for the 60 and 100 micron bands only has recently been released. The maps, which have angular resolution ~1', cover the Galactic latitude range |b| < 4.7° and selected regions at higher latitudes. IPAC offers an on-line interface for extracting images from this High Resolution IRAS Galaxy Atlas (IGA). The complete IGA, not yet available on-line here, may be ordered on tape or CD-R. Contact the Coordinated Request User Support Office (CRUSO) for more information. Depending on the affiliation of the requestor, a fee may be charged.

Reference:
Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) Catalogs and Atlases, vol. 1, Explanatory Supplement, 1988, ed. C. Beichman, et al., NASA RP-1190 (Washington, DC: GPO)

Version and release date: HCON1 1.0, 1985 Oct 10; HCON2 1.0, 1986 Jul 16; HCON3 2.0, 1986 Jul 16