VLA Sky Survey

The Very Large Array Sky Survey (VLASS) is a community-driven initiative to carry out a synoptic radio sky survey using the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA).

VLASS Splinter Session at AAS242

"Explorer's Guide to the VLA Sky Survey (VLASS)"

Tuesday, June 6, 2023, 9am - 3pm MDT

Session recordings, presentation slides, and other links are available here. We thank those who attended in-person or online for their participation and interest.

Explore the VLA Sky!

We have created an Interactive HiPS Image containing all the currently available epochs of VLASS as well as links to other useful sky survey images.
Our partners at CIRADA have made available a Cutout Service that includes VLASS Quicklook Images. Also available are VLASS Source Catalogs.

Description:

VLASS will eventually use  ~ 5500 hours to cover the whole sky visible at the VLA (δ > -40 deg), a total of 33,885 deg². The survey is designed to engage radio astronomy experts, multi-wavelength astronomers, and citizen scientists alike. The data are being acquired in three epochs to allow the discovery of transient radio sources; are calibrated in Stokes I, Q and U; and cover the frequency range 2–4 GHz with an angular resolution of ~ 2.5 arcsec. The 1σ  sensitivity goal for a single pass is 120 μJy, or 69 μJy when all three passes are combined. Observing began in September 2017 and the survey will finish observing in 2024. By utilizing an “on the fly” interferometry mode, the observing overheads are much reduced compared to a conventional pointed survey.

Epoch Start End Status
Pilot Jun 2016 Sep 2016 obs, QL complete, HiPS
1.1 Sep 2017 Feb 2018 obs, QL v2 complete, HiPS
1.2 Mar 2019 Jul 2019 obs, QL v2 complete, HiPS
2.1 Jun 2020 Oct 2020 obs, QL complete, HiPS
2.2 Oct 2021 Mar 2022 obs, QL complete, HiPS
3.1 Jan 2023 Jun 2023 obs, QL complete, HiPS
3.2 May 2024 Oct 2024 ongoing

 

Quick Links:

Quick Look images

Single Epoch images

User contributed software page

Motivation: In the 20 years since the initial observations were made for the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) and the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters (FIRST), these pioneering programs have defined the state-of-the-art in centimeter radio sky surveys and produced a steady stream of excellent science. The astronomy community recognized that several of the high priority science goals of the 2010 decadal survey New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics could be addressed by a new VLA sky survey. Many scientists expressed keen interest in a new, wide-area centimeter wavelength sky surveys in support of multi-wavelength synoptic surveys using existing and future facilities, such as the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.

 

Connect with NRAO

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory and Green Bank Observatory are facilities of the U.S. National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

Founded in 1956, the NRAO provides state-of-the-art radio telescope facilities for use by the international scientific community. NRAO telescopes are open to all astronomers regardless of institutional or national affiliation. Observing time on NRAO telescopes is available on a competitive basis to qualified scientists after evaluation of research proposals on the basis of scientific merit, the capability of the instruments to do the work, and the availability of the telescope during the requested time. NRAO also provides both formal and informal programs in education and public outreach for teachers, students, the general public, and the media.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense..."

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