The Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey

The Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS) is designed to gather the best and deepest multiwavelength data for studying the formation and evolution of galaxies and active galactic nuclei, the distribution of dark and luminous matter at high redshift, the cosmological parameters from distant supernovae, and the extragalactic background light. The program uses the most powerful space– and ground–based telescopes to cover two fields, each 10′×16′, centered on the Hubble Deep Field North and the Chandra Deep Field South, already the sites of extensive observations from X–ray through radio wavelengths. GOODS incorporates 3.6–24μm observations from a SIRTF Legacy Program, four–band ACS imaging from an HST Treasury Program, and extensive new ground–based imaging and spectroscopy. GOODS data products will be made available on a rapid time–scale, enabling community research on a wide variety of topics. Here we describe the project, emphasizing its application for studying the mass assembly history of galaxies.