The IRAC Shallow Survey

The IRAC shallow survey covers 8.5⊓⊔ in the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey in Boötes with 3 or more 30 second exposures per position. An overview of the survey design, reduction, calibration, star-galaxy separation, and initial results is provided. The survey includes ≈ 370, 000, 280,000, 38,000, and 34,000 sources brighter than the 5σ limits of 6.4, 8.8, 51, and 50 μJy at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8 μm respectively, including some with unusual spectral energy distributions. Subject headings: surveys — infrared: stars — infrared: galaxies Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, MS 169-327, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA, 91109; e-mail: [email protected] Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138 Steward Observatory, University of Ariziona, Tucson, AZ, 85721 University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1562 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627 Spitzer Science Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Tucson, AZ, 85726-6732 Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, 43403