Description
Here we release the first version of the atlas and catalog of dark clouds derived by using the optical database Digitized Sky Survey I (DSS). Applying a traditional star-count technique to 1043 plates contained in DSS, we have produced an Av map covering the entire region in the galactic latitude range |b|=<40{deg}. The map was drawn at two different angular resolutions of 6' and 18', and is released in FITS format. Based on the Av map, we identified 2448 dark clouds and 2841 clumps located inside them. Physical parameters, such as the position, extent, and optical extinction, were measured for each of the clouds and clumps. We also searched for counterparts among already known dark clouds in the literature. The catalog of dark clouds presented here lists the cloud parameters as well as the counterparts. Printed version of the atlas and catalog was published in a special issue of Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan (PASJ) in February 2005 (Dobashi et al., 2005, PASJ, 57, pp.S1-S386).
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