The SuperCOSMOS Sky Survey - I. Introduction and description

Abstract

In this, the first in a series of three papers concerning the SuperCOSMOS Sky\nSurvey (SSS), we give an introduction and user guide to the survey programme.\nWe briefly describe other wide-field surveys and compare with our own. We give\nexamples of the data, and make a comparison of the accuracies of the various\nimage parameters available with those from the other surveys providing similar\ndata; we show that the SSS database and interface offer advantages over these\nsurveys. Some science applications of the data are also described and some\nlimitations discussed. The series of three papers constitutes a comprehensive\ndescription and user guide for the SSS.\n