Search

We report the discovery of a likely outbursting Class I young stellar object, associated with the star-forming region NGC 281-W (distance $\sim 2.8$ kpc). The source is currently seen only at infrared wavelengths, appearing in both the Palomar Gattini InfraRed ($1.2~\mu$m) and the Near Earth Object Widefield Infrared Survey Explorer ($3.4$ and $4.6~\mu$m) photometric time-domain surveys. Recent near-infrared imaging reveals a new, extended scattered light nebula. Recent near-infrared spectroscopy confirms the similarity of PGIR 20dci to FU Ori type sources, based on strong molecular absorption in CO, H$_2$O, and OH, weak absorption in several atomic lines, and a warm wind/outflow as indicated by a P Cygni profile in the HeI 10830 A line. This is a rare case of an FU Ori star with a well-measured long term photometric rise before a sharper outburst, and the second instance of an FU Ori star with a documented two-step brightening in the mid-infrared., Comment: accepted to AAS Journals on 2021, February 5

The CatWISE2020 Catalog consists of 1,890,715,640 sources over the entire sky selected from WISE and NEOWISE survey data at 3.4 and 4.6 $\mu$m (W1 and W2) collected from 2010 Jan. 7 to 2018 Dec. 13. This dataset adds two years to that used for the CatWISE Preliminary Catalog (Eisenhardt et al., 2020), bringing the total to six times as many exposures spanning over sixteen times as large a time baseline as the AllWISE catalog. The other major change from the CatWISE Preliminary Catalog is that the detection list for the CatWISE2020 Catalog was generated using ${\it crowdsource}$ (Schlafly et al. 2019), while the CatWISE Preliminary Catalog used the detection software used for AllWISE. These two factors result in roughly twice as many sources in the CatWISE2020 Catalog. The scatter with respect to ${\it Spitzer}$ photometry at faint magnitudes in the COSMOS field, which is out of the Galactic plane and at low ecliptic latitude (corresponding to lower WISE coverage depth) is similar to that for the CatWISE Preliminary Catalog. The 90% completeness depth for the CatWISE2020 Catalog is at W1=17.7 mag and W2=17.5 mag, 1.7 mag deeper than in the CatWISE Preliminary Catalog. From comparison to ${\it Gaia}$, CatWISE2020 motions are accurate at the 20 mas yr$^{-1}$ level for W1$\sim$15 mag sources, and at the $\sim100$ mas yr$^{-1}$ level for W1$\sim$17 mag sources. This level of precision represents a 12$\times$ improvement over AllWISE. The CatWISE catalogs are available in the WISE/NEOWISE Enhanced and Contributed Products area of the NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive., Comment: 27 pages, 24 figure, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in ApJS. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1908.08902

We report the detection of a large-amplitude MIR outburst in the white dwarf (WD) 0145+234 in the NEOWISE Survey data. The source had a stable MIR flux before 2018, and was brightened by about 1.0 magnitude in the W1 and W2 bands within half a year and has been continuously brightening since then. No significant variations are found in the optical photometry data during the same period. This suggests that this MIR outburst is caused by recent replenishing or redistribution of dust, rather than intrinsic variations of the WD. Spectral energy distribution modeling of 0145+234 suggests that there was already a dust disk around the WD in the quiescent state, and both of the temperature and surface area of the disk evolved rapidly since the outburst. The dust temperature was ≃1770 K in the initial rising phase, close to the sublimation temperature of silicate grains, and gradually cooled down to around 1150 K, while the surface area increased by a factor of about six during the same period. The inferred closest distance of dust to the WD is within the tidal disruption radius of a gravitationally bounded asteroid. We estimated the dust mass to be between 3 × 10¹⁵ and 3 × 10¹⁷ ρ/(1 g cm⁻³) kg for silicate grains of a power-law size distribution with a high cutoff size from 0.1 to 1000 μm. We interpret this as a possible tidal breakup of an exoasteroid by the WD. Further follow-up observations of this rare event may provide insights on the origin of dust disk and metal pollution in some WDs.

We report the outbursting source PTF 14jg, which prior to the onset of its late 2013 eruption, was a faint, unstudied, and virtually uncatalogued star. The salient features of the PTF 14jg outburst are: (i) projected location near the W4 HII region and radial velocity consistent with physical association; (ii) a lightcurve that underwent a $\sim$6-7 mag optical (R-band) through mid-infrared (L-band) brightening on a few month time scale, that peaked and then faded by $\sim$3 mag, but plateaued still $>$3.5 mag above quiescence by $\sim$8 months post-peak, lasting to at least five years after eruption; (iii) strong outflow signatures, with velocities reaching -530 km/s; (iv) a low gravity and broad ($\sim$100-150 km/s FWHM) optical absorption line spectrum that systematically changes its spectral type with wavelength; (v) lithium; and (vi) ultraviolet and infrared excess. We tentatively identify the outburst as exhibiting characteristics of a young star FU Ori event. However, the burst would be unusually hot, with an absorption spectrum exhibiting high-excitation ($\sim$11,000-15,000 K) lines in the optical, and no evidence of CO in the near-infrared, in addition to exhibiting an unusual lightcurve. We thus also consider alternative scenarios including various forms of novae, nuclear burning instabilities, massive star events, and mergers -- finding them all inferior to the atypically hot FU Ori star classification. The source eventually may be interpreted as a new category of young star outburst with larger amplitude and shorter rise time than most FU Ori-like events. Continued monitoring of the lightcurve and spectral evolution will reveal its true nature., Accepted to ApJ

CatWISE is a program to catalog sources selected from combined ${\it WISE}$ and ${\it NEOWISE}$ all-sky survey data at 3.4 and 4.6 $\mu$m (W1 and W2). The CatWISE Preliminary Catalog consists of 900,849,014 sources measured in data collected from 2010 to 2016. This dataset represents four times as many exposures and spans over ten times as large a time baseline as that used for the AllWISE Catalog. CatWISE adapts AllWISE software to measure the sources in coadded images created from six-month subsets of these data, each representing one coverage of the inertial sky, or epoch. The catalog includes the measured motion of sources in 8 epochs over the 6.5 year span of the data. From comparison to ${\it Spitzer}$, the SNR=5 limits in magnitudes in the Vega system are W1=17.67 and W2=16.47, compared to W1=16.96 and W2=16.02 for AllWISE. From comparison to ${\it Gaia}$, CatWISE positions have typical accuracies of 50 mas for stars at W1=10 mag and 275 mas for stars at W1=15.5 mag. Proper motions have typical accuracies of 10 mas yr$^{-1}$ and 30 mas yr$^{-1}$ for stars with these brightnesses, an order of magnitude better than from AllWISE. The catalog is available in the WISE/NEOWISE Enhanced and Contributed Products area of the NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive., Comment: 53 pages, 20 figures, 5 tables. Accepted by ApJS

The Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) spacecraft has been conducting a two-band thermal infrared survey to detect and characterize asteroids and comets since its reactivation in 2013 December. Using the observations collected during the fourth and fifth years of the survey, our automated pipeline detected candidate moving objects that were verified and reported to the Minor Planet Center. Using these detections, we perform thermal modeling of each object from the near-Earth object (NEO) and Main Belt asteroid (MBA) populations to constrain their sizes. We present thermal model fits of asteroid diameters for 189 NEOs and 5831 MBAs detected during the fourth year of the survey, and 185 NEOs and 5776 MBAs from the fifth year. To date, the NEOWISE Reactivation survey has provided thermal model characterization for 957 unique NEOs. Including all phases of the original Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer survey brings the total to 1473 unique NEOs that have been characterized between 2010 and the present.

We report on the source Gaia 17bpi and identify it as a new, ongoing FU Ori type outburst, associated with a young stellar object. The optical lightcurve from Gaia exhibited a 3.5 mag rise with the source appearing to plateau in mid/late 2018. Mid-infrared observations from NEOWISE also show a $>$3 mag rise that occurred in two stages, with the second one coincident with the optical brightening, and the first one preceding the optical brightening by $\sim$1.5 years. We model the outburst as having started between October and December of 2014. This wavelength-dependent aspect of young star accretion-driven outbursts has never been documented before. Both the mid-infrared and the optical colors of the object become bluer as the outburst proceeds. Optical spectroscopic characteristics in the outburst phase include: a GK-type absorption spectrum, strong wind/outflow in e.g. Mgb, NaD, H$\alpha$, KI, OI, and CaII profiles, and detection of LiI 6707 \AA. The infrared spectrum in the outburst phase is similar to that of an M-type spectrum, notably exhibiting prominent $H_2O$ and $^{12}$CO (2-0) bandhead absorption in the K-band, and likely HeI wind in the Y-band. The new FU Ori source Gaia 17bpi is associated with a little-studied dark cloud in the galactic plane, located at a distance of 1.27 kpc., Comment: Accepted to ApJ

We present the mid-infrared (MIR) light curves (LCs) of a tidal disruption event (TDE) candidate in the center of a nearby ultraluminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG) F01004-2237 using archival {\it WISE} and {\it NEOWISE} data from 2010 to 2016. At the peak of the optical flare, F01004-2237 was IR quiescent. About three years later, its MIR fluxes have shown a steady increase, rising by 1.34 and 1.04 mag in $3.4$ and $4.6\mu$m up to the end of 2016. The host-subtracted MIR peak luminosity is $2-3\times10^{44}$\,erg\,s$^{-1}$. We interpret the MIR LCs as an infrared echo, i.e. dust reprocessed emission of the optical flare. Fitting the MIR LCs using our dust model, we infer a dust torus of the size of a few parsecs at some inclined angle. The derived dust temperatures range from $590-850$\,K, and the warm dust mass is $\sim7\,M_{\odot}$. Such a large mass implies that the dust cannot be newly formed. We also derive the UV luminosity of $4-11\times10^{44}$\,erg\,s$^{-1}$. The inferred total IR energy is $1-2\times10^{52}$\,erg, suggesting a large dust covering factor. Finally, our dust model suggests that the long tail of the optical flare could be due to dust scattering.

We present SCUBA-2 850um submillimetre (submm) observations of the fields of 10 dusty, luminous galaxies at z ~ 1.7 - 4.6, detected at 12um and/or 22um by the WISE all-sky survey, but faint or undetected at 3.4um and 4.6um; dubbed hot, dust-obscured galaxies (Hot DOGs). The six detected targets all have total infrared luminosities greater than 10^13 L_sun, with one greater than 10^14 L_sun. Their spectral energy distributions (SEDs) are very blue from mid-infrared to submm wavelengths and not well fitted by standard AGN SED templates, without adding extra dust extinction to fit the WISE 3.4um and 4.6um data. The SCUBA-2 850um observations confirm that the Hot DOGs have less cold and/or more warm dust emission than standard AGN templates, and limit an underlying extended spiral or ULIRG-type galaxy to contribute less than about 2% or 55% of the typical total Hot DOG IR luminosity, respectively. The two most distant and luminous targets have similar observed submm to mid-infrared ratios to the rest, and thus appear to have even hotter SEDs. The number of serendipitous submm galaxies (SMGs) detected in the 1.5-arcmin-radius SCUBA-2 850um maps indicates there is a significant over-density of serendipitous sources around Hot DOGs. These submm observations confirm that the WISE-selected ultra-luminous galaxies have very blue mid-infrared to submm SEDs, suggesting that they contain very powerful AGN, and are apparently located in unusual arcmin-scale overdensities of very luminous dusty galaxies., 12 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in MNRAS

We report on the source Gaia 19ajj, identifying it as a young star associated with a little-studied star-forming region seen along a complex line-of-sight through the Gum Nebula. The optical lightcurve recently recorded by Gaia exhibits a slow and unsteady 5.5 mag rise over about 3 years, while the mid-infrared lightcurve from NEOWISE over the same time period shows a 1.2 mag rise having similar structure. Available color information is inconsistent with pure extinction reduction as the cause for the photometric brightening. Optical spectroscopic characteristics in the current bright phase include: little in the way of absorption except for the hallmark Li I 6707 A signature of youth plus weak e.g. Ca I and notably Ba II; strong wind/outflow in Ca II, Mg I b, Na I D, Halpha, K I, O I; jet signatures in [O I], [S II], [Ca II], [Fe II], and [Ni II]; and narrow rest-velocity emission in neutral species such as Fe I, Ni I, and Mg I. The infrared spectrum is also characterized by outflow and emission, including: a hot He I wind, jet lines such as [Fe II] and H2; and weak narrow rest-velocity atomic line emission. The 12CO bandheads are weakly in emission, but there is also broad H2O absorption. Gaia 19ajj exhibited a previous bright state in the 2010-2012 time frame. The body of photometric and spectroscopic evidence suggests that the source bears resemblance to V2492 Cyg (PTF 10nvg) and PV Cep, both of which similarly experience bright phases that recur on long timescales, with large-amplitude photometric variations and emission-dominated spectra. We interpret the behavior of Gaia 19ajj as caused by cycles of enhanced disk accretion accompanied by reduced extinction., Comment: To appear in the Astronomical Journal

We present the discovery of an extremely cold, nearby brown dwarf in the solar neighborhood, found in the CatWISE catalog (Eisenhardt et al., in prep.). Photometric follow-up with Spitzer reveals that the object, CWISEP J193518.59-154620.3, has ch1$-$ch2 = 3.24$\,\pm\,$0.31 mag, making it one of the reddest brown dwarfs known. Using the Spitzer photometry and the polynomial relations from Kirkpatrick et al. (2019) we estimate an effective temperature in the $\sim$270--360 K range, and a distance estimate in the 5.6$-$10.9 pc range. We combined the WISE, NEOWISE, and Spitzer data to measure a proper motion of $\mu_\alpha \cos \delta = 337\pm69$ mas yr$^{-1}$, $\mu_\delta = -50\pm97$ mas yr$^{-1}$, which implies a relatively low tangential velocity in the range 7$-$22 km s$^{-1}$., Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication on ApJ

The Near-Earth Object Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) mission continues to detect, track, and characterize minor planets. We present diameters and albedos calculated from observations taken during the second year since the spacecraft was reactivated in late 2013. These include 207 near-Earth asteroids and 8,885 other asteroids. $84\%$ of the near-Earth asteroids did not have previously measured diameters and albedos by the NEOWISE mission. Comparison of sizes and albedos calculated from NEOWISE measurements with those measured by occultations, spacecraft, and radar-derived shapes shows accuracy consistent with previous NEOWISE publications. Diameters and albedos fall within $ \pm \sim20\%$ and $\pm\sim40\%$, 1-sigma, respectively, of those measured by these alternate techniques. NEOWISE continues to preferentially discover near-Earth objects which are large ($>100$ m), and have low albedos., Accepted to AJ

Recently Assef et al.(2018) presented two catalogs of AGN candidates over 30,093 deg^2 selected from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) observations. From their most reliable sample, Assef et al. (2018) identified 45 AGN candidates with the highest variability levels in the AllWISE catalog, but that are not blazars. Here we present new spectroscopic observations of some of these targets to further constrain their nature. We also study their optical lightcurves using observations from CRTS, and find that only seven show significant optical variability, and that five of those seven are spectroscopically classified as AGN. In one of them, WISEA J094806.56+031801.7 (W0948+0318), we identify a transient event in the CRTS lightcurve. We present a detailed analysis of this transient, and characterize it through its CRTS lightcurve and its multi-wavelength spectral energy distribution obtained from GALEX, Pan-STARRS and WISE observations. We find that the most likely source of the transient is a super-luminous supernova (SLSN) in W0948+0318. We estimate the total radiated energy to be E=1.6\pm 0.3 x 10^52 erg, making it one of the most energetic SLSN observed. Based on the lack of change in mid-IR color throughout and after the transient event, we speculate that the location of the SLSN is within the torus of the AGN. We identify 9 possible analogs to W0948+0318 based on their WISE lightcurves. None show optically detected transients and hence suggest significant dust obscuration. Finally, we estimate a rate of >2x10^-7 yr^-1 per AGN for these transients under the conservative assumption that none of the identified analogs have a common origin with the transient in W0948+0318., Published in The Astrophysical Journal. Updated with comments from the referee. A version with all Figures from the last appendix can be found at http://www.astro.udp.cl/~rjassef/Assef_et_al_2018_All_Figures.pdf

The WD 0806-661 system consists of a DQ white dwarf primary at 19.26 pc (Gaia Collaboration et al. 2018) and an extremely cold common proper motion companion at 130'' separation (WD 0806-661B; Luhman et al. 2011). Given its absolute magnitude at Spitzer [4.5], the cold companion is presumed to be either a Y type brown dwarf or giant planet. At a projected physical separation of ~2500 au, WD 0806-661B represents the widest known definitively planetary-mass companion, and may provide important insights into the processes of star and planet formation. Unlike most Y dwarfs, WD 0806-661B has lacked a secure detection at 4.6 μm in the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE; Wright et al. 2010) W2 channel. WD 0806-661B was reported as a low-significance detection in the WISE All-Sky Source Catalog (Cutri et al. 2012), with W2 = 17.68 ± 0.41 (J080715.32-661851.6, w2snr = 2.5). No detection of a WD 0806-661B counterpart is reported in the AllWISE Source Catalog, although the AllWISE Reject Table contains a low-significance positional match (J080715.34-661852.1) with W2 = 17.85 ± 0.41 (Cutri et al. 2013). Both the All-Sky and AllWISE Reject best-fit W2 magnitudes, if taken at face value, would make WD 0806-661B a very blue outlier among Y dwarfs in [4.5]−W2 color, given that the W2 and [4.5] magnitudes of known Y dwarfs generally agree to within ~0.1 mag.

We present Spitzer observations for a sample of close major-merger galaxy pairs (KPAIR sample) selected from 2MASS/SDSS-DR3 cross-matches. The goals are to study the star formation activity in these galaxies and to set a local bench mark for the cosmic evolution of close major mergers. The Spitzer KPAIR sample (27 pairs, 54 galaxies) includes all spectroscopically confirmed S+S and S+E pairs in a parent sample that is complete for primaries brighter than K=12.5 mag, projected separations of 5< s < 20 kpc/h, and mass ratios, 73 pages; accpected by ApJ

We present two large catalogs of AGN candidates identified across ~75% of the sky from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer's AllWISE Data Release. Both catalogs, some of the largest such catalogs published to date, are selected purely on the basis of mid-IR photometry in the WISE W1 and W2 bands. The catalogs are designed to be appropriate for a broad range of scientific investigations, with one catalog emphasizing reliability while the other emphasizes completeness. Specifically, the R90 catalog consists of 4,543,530 AGN candidates with 90% reliability, while the C75 catalog consists of 20,907,127 AGN candidates with 75% completeness. We provide a detailed discussion of potential artifacts, and excise portions of the sky close to the Galactic Center, Galactic Plane, nearby galaxies, and other expected contaminating sources. Our final catalogs cover 30,093 deg^2 of extragalactic sky. These catalogs are expected to enable a broad range of science, and we present a few simple illustrative cases. From the R90 sample we identify 45 highly variable AGN lacking radio counterparts in the FIRST survey, implying they are unlikely to be blazars. One of these sources, WISEA J142846.71+172353.1, is a mid-IR-identified changing-look quasar at z=0.104. We characterize our catalogs by comparing them to large, wide-area AGN catalogs in the literature, specifically UV-to-near-IR quasar selections from SDSS and XDQSOz, mid-IR selection from Secrest et al. (2015) and X-ray selection from ROSAT. From the latter work, we identify four ROSAT X-ray sources that each are matched to three WISE-selected AGN in the R90 sample within 30". Palomar spectroscopy reveals one of these systems, 2RXS J150158.6+691029, to consist of a triplet of quasars at z=1.133 +/- 0.004, suggestive of a rich group or forming galaxy cluster.(Abridged), Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Supplements. Updated with comments from the referee. 20 pages, 15 figures, 8 tables. The WISE AGN Catalogs can be made available upon request by writing to roberto.assef@mail.udp.cl

The Two Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) has provided a uniform photometric catalog to search for previously unknown red active galactic nuclei (AGN) and Quasi-Stellar Objects (QSOs).We have extended the search to the southern equatorial sky by obtaining spectra for 1182 AGN candidates using the six degree field (6dF) multifibre spectrograph on the UK Schmidt Telescope. These were scheduled as auxiliary targets for the 6dF Galaxy Redshift Survey. The candidates were selected using a single color cut of J – Ks > 2 to Ks ≲ 15.5 and a galactic latitude of lbl > 30°. 432 spectra were of sufficient quality to enable a reliable classification. 116 sources (∼27%) were securely classified as type I AGN, 20 as probable type I AGN, and 57 as probable type II AGN. Most of them span the redshift range 0.05 < z < 0.5 and only 8 (∼6%) were previously identified as AGN or QSOs. Our selection leads to a significantly higher AGN identification rate amongst local galaxies (>20%) than in any previous (mostly blue-selected) galaxy survey. A small fraction of the type I AGN could have their optical colors reddened by optically thin dust with AV < 2 mag relative to optically selected QSOs. A handful show evidence of excess far-infrared (IR) emission. The equivalent width (EW) and color distributions of the type I and II AGN are consistent with AGN unified models. In particular, the EW of the [Oiii] emission line weakly correlates with optical–near-IR color in each class of AGN, suggesting anisotropic obscuration of the AGN continuum. Overall, the optical properties of the 2MASS red AGN are not dramatically different from those of optically-selected QSOs. Our near-IR selection appears to detect the most near-IR luminous QSOs in the local universe to z≃0.6 and provides incentive to extend the search to deeper near-IR surveys.

We analyze the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) and emission-line properties of the red (J – K_S >2) 2MASS active galactic nuclei (AGNs) using principle component analysis (PCA). The sample includes 44 low redshift AGNs with low or moderate obscuration (N_H

We present infrared (IR) to X-ray spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for 44 red AGN selected from the 2MASS survey on the basis of their red J-K$_S$ color (>2 mag) and later observed by Chandra. In comparison with optically-, radio-, and X-ray selected AGN, their median SEDs are red in the optical and near-IR with little/no blue bump. It thus seems that near-IR color selection isolates the reddest subset of AGN that can be classified optically. The shape of the SEDs is generally consistent with modest absorption by gas (in the X-ray) and dust (in the optical-IR). The levels of obscuration, estimated from X-rays, far-IR and our detailed optical/near-IR color modeling are all consistent implying N_H < few*10^{22} cm^{-2}. We present SED models that show how the AGN optical/near-IR colors change due to differing amounts of reddening, AGN to host galaxy ratio, redshift and scattered light emission and apply them to the sources in the sample. We find that the 2MASS AGN optical color, B-R, and to a lesser extent the near-IR color, J-K$_S$, are strongly affected by reddening, host galaxy emission, redshift, and in few, highly polarized objects, also by scattered AGN light. The obscuration/inclination of the AGN allows us to see weaker emission components which are generally swamped by the AGN.

The optical light curve of the quasar PG 1302-102 at $z = 0.278$ shows a strong, smooth 5.2 yr periodic signal, detectable over a period of $\sim 20$ yr. Although the interpretation of this phenomenon is still uncertain, the most plausible mechanisms involve a binary system of two supermassive black holes with a subparsec separation. At this close separation, the nuclear black holes in PG 1302-102 will likely merge within $\sim 10^{5}$ yr due to gravitational wave emission alone. Here we report the rest-frame near-infrared time lags for PG 1302-102. Compiling data from {\it WISE} and {\it Akari}, we confirm that the periodic behavior reported in the optical light curve from Graham et al. (2015) is reproduced at infrared wavelengths, with best-fit observed-frame 3.4 and $4.6 \mu$m time lags of $(2219 \pm 153, 2408 \pm 148)$ days for a near face-on orientation of the torus, or $(4103\pm 153, 4292 \pm 148)$ days for an inclined system with relativistic Doppler boosting in effect. The periodicity in the infrared light curves and the light-travel time of the accretion disk photons to reach the dust glowing regions support that a source within the accretion disk is responsible for the optical variability of PG 1302-102, echoed at the further out dusty regions. The implied distance of this dusty, assumed toroidal region is $\sim$ 1.5 pc for a near face-on geometry, or $\sim$1.1 pc for the relativistic Doppler boosted case., Comment: 5 pages, accepted to ApJL

We present 20 WISE-selected galaxies with bolometric luminosities L_bol > 10^14 L_sun, including five with infrared luminosities L_IR = L(rest 8-1000 micron) > 10^14 L_sun. These "extremely luminous infrared galaxies," or ELIRGs, were discovered using the "W1W2-dropout" selection criteria which requires marginal or non-detections at 3.4 and 4.6 micron (W1 and W2, respectively) but strong detections at 12 and 22 micron in the WISE survey. Their spectral energy distributions are dominated by emission at rest-frame 4-10 micron, suggesting that hot dust with T_d ~ 450K is responsible for the high luminosities. These galaxies are likely powered by highly obscured AGNs, and there is no evidence suggesting these systems are beamed or lensed. We compare this WISE-selected sample with 116 optically selected quasars that reach the same L_bol level, corresponding to the most luminous unobscured quasars in the literature. We find that the rest-frame 5.8 and 7.8 micron luminosities of the WISE-selected ELIRGs can be 30-80% higher than that of the unobscured quasars. The existence of AGNs with L_bol > 10^14 L_sun at z > 3 suggests that these supermassive black holes are born with large mass, or have very rapid mass assembly. For black hole seed masses ~ 10^3 M_sun, either sustained super-Eddington accretion is needed, or the radiative efficiency must be, 17 pages in emulateapj format, including 11 figures and 5 tables. ApJ in press

We have carried out simulations to predict the performance of a new space-based telescopic survey operating at thermal infrared wavelengths that seeks to discover and characterize a large fraction of the potentially hazardous near-Earth asteroid (NEA) population. Two potential architectures for the survey were considered: one located at the Earth-Sun L1 Lagrange point, and one in a Venus-trailing orbit. A sample cadence was formulated and tested, allowing for the self-follow-up necessary for objects discovered in the daytime sky on Earth. Synthetic populations of NEAs with sizes >=140 m in effective spherical diameter were simulated using recent determinations of their physical and orbital properties. Estimates of the instrumental sensitivity, integration times, and slew speeds were included for both architectures assuming the properties of new large-format 10 um detector arrays capable of operating at ~35 K. Our simulation included the creation of a preliminary version of a moving object processing pipeline suitable for operating on the trial cadence. We tested this pipeline on a simulated sky populated with astrophysical sources such as stars and galaxies extrapolated from Spitzer and WISE data, the catalog of known minor planets (including Main Belt asteroids, comets, Jovian Trojans, etc.), and the synthetic NEA model. Trial orbits were computed for simulated position-time pairs extracted from the synthetic surveys to verify that the tested cadence would result in orbits suitable for recovering objects at a later time. Our results indicate that the Earth-Sun L1 and Venus-trailing surveys achieve similar levels of integral completeness for potentially hazardous asteroids larger than 140 m; placing the telescope in an interior orbit does not yield an improvement in discovery rates. This work serves as a necessary first step for the detailed planning of a next-generation NEA survey., AJ accepted; corrected typo

Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are well-known to exhibit flux variability across a wide range of wavelength regimes, but the precise origin of the variability at different wavelengths remains unclear. To investigate the relatively unexplored near-IR variability of the most luminous AGNs, we conduct a search for variability using well sampled JHKs-band light curves from the 2MASS survey calibration fields. Our sample includes 27 known quasars with an average of 924 epochs of observation over three years, as well as one spectroscopically confirmed blazar (SDSSJ14584479+3720215) with 1972 epochs of data. This is the best-sampled NIR photometric blazar light curve to date, and it exhibits correlated, stochastic variability that we characterize with continuous auto-regressive moving average (CARMA) models. None of the other 26 known quasars had detectable variability in the 2MASS bands above the photometric uncertainty. A blind search of the 2MASS calibration field light curves for AGN candidates based on fitting CARMA(1,0) models (damped-random walk) uncovered only 7 candidates. All 7 were young stellar objects within the {\rho} Ophiuchus star forming region, five with previous X-ray detections. A significant {\gamma}-ray detection (5{\sigma}) for the known blazar using 4.5 years of Fermi photon data is also found. We suggest that strong NIR variability of blazars, such as seen for SDSSJ14584479+3720215, can be used as an efficient method of identifying previously-unidentified {\gamma}-ray blazars, with low contamination from other AGN., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, ApJ Accepted

Between 1997 June and 2001 February the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) collected 25.4 Tbytes of raw imagingdatacovering99.998%ofthecelestialsphereinthenear-infraredJ(1.25 � m),H(1.65 � m),andKs(2.16 � m) bandpasses. Observations were conducted from two dedicated 1.3 m diameter telescopes located at Mount Hopkins, Arizona,andCerroTololo,Chile.The7.8sofintegrationtimeaccumulatedforeachpointontheskyandstrictquality control yielded a 10 � point-source detection level of better than 15.8, 15.1, and 14.3 mag at the J, H, and Ks bands, respectively, for virtually the entire sky. Bright source extractions have 1 � photometric uncertainty of

We have obtained optical imaging with the Canada France Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) of 21 2MASS-selected QSOs of redshift greater than 0.3. This paper complements the sample of lower redshift 2MASS QSOs previously published. The QSOs have higher overall and nuclear luminosity, bluer colours, and higher ratio of nuclear to host flux than the lower redshift sample. From these and other properties, we argue that the sample is consistent with the emergence of the AGN from dusty starbursts following major tidal interactions between galaxies.

The Infrared Space Observatory was used to search for a tracer of the warm and dense neutral interstellar medium, the [O I] 63.18 micron line, in four ultraluminous IRAS sources lying at redshifts between 0.6 and 1.4. While these sources are quasars, their infrared continuum emission suggests a substantial interstellar medium. No [O I] flux was securely detected after probing down to a 3 sigma sensitivity level sufficient for detecting line emission in starbursts with similar continuum emission. However, if the detection threshold is slightly relaxed, one target is detected with 2.7 sigma significance. For this radio-quiet quasar there is likely a substantial dense and warm interstellar medium; the upper limits for the three radio-loud sources do not preclude the same conclusion. Using a new, uniformly-processed database of the ISO extragalactic far-infrared spectroscopy observations, it is shown that nearby Seyfert galaxies typically have higher [O I]-to-far-infrared ratios than do normal star-forming galaxies, so the lack of strong [O I] 63 micron emission from these high-redshift ultraluminous sources cannot be attributed to their active cores.

(Abridged) We present an unbiassed near-IR selected AGN sample, covering 12.56 square degrees down to K ~ 15.5, selected from the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS). Our only selection effect is a moderate color cut (J-K>1.2) designed to reduce contamination from galactic stars. We observed both point-like and extended sources. Using the brute-force capabilities of the 2dF multi-fiber spectrograph on the Anglo-Australian Telescope, we obtained spectra of 65% of the target list: an unbiassed sub-sample of 1526 sources. 80% of the 2MASS sources in our fields are galaxies, with a median redshift of 0.15. The remainder are K- and M-dwarf stars. Seyfert-2 Galaxies are roughly three times more common in this sample than in optically selected galaxy samples (once corrections have been made for the equivalent width limit and for different aperture sizes). We find 14 broad-line (Type-1) AGNs, giving a surface density down to K, AJ in press

Using simple infrared color selection, 2MASS has found a large number of red, previously unidentified, radio-quiet QSOs. Although missed by UV/optical surveys, the 2MASS QSOs have K-band luminosities that are comparable to "classical" QSOs. This suggests the possible discovery of a previously predicted large population of dust-obscured radio-quiet QSOs. We present the results of an imaging survey of 29 2MASS QSOs observed with WFPC2 onboard the Hubble Space Telescope. I-band images, which benefit from the relative faintness of the nuclei at optical wavelengths, are used to characterize the host galaxies, measure the nuclear contribution to the total observed I-band emission, and to survey the surrounding environments. The 2MASS QSOs are found to lie in galaxies with a variety of morphologies, luminosities, and dynamical states, not unlike those hosting radio-quiet PG QSOs. Our analysis suggests that the extraordinary red colors of the 2MASS QSOs are caused by extinction of an otherwise typical QSO spectrum due to dust near the nucleus.

We have carried out a survey of the Lockman Hole covering over 24 deg2 using the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) observing system in a special mode that reaches roughly 1 mag deeper than the nominal 2MASS survey. The resultant point-source catalog reaches to approximately (J, H, Ks) < (17.8, 16.5, 16.0) mag with completeness and reliability in excess of 90%–95% at the faintest levels. These data will be useful in identifying sources in SIRTF surveys of this area. We have cataloged 69,115 objects, almost twice as many as in the nominal 2MASS survey of this region. The sample includes a large number of potential new active galaxies, as well as a T dwarf candidate.

This is one of two papers in which we report the detection of structure in the cosmic infrared background (CIB) between 1.25 - 2.2 micron through the use of data from the Two Micron Sky Survey (2MASS). This paper concentrates on data assembly, analysis and the estimate of the various foreground contributions; the companion paper (Kashlinsky, Odenwald, Mather, Skrutskie, Cutri 2002, hereafter KOMSC) presents the cosmological results for the CIB fluctuations and their implications. By using repeated observations of a specific calibration star field, we were able to achieve integration times in excess of 3900 seconds compared to the 7.8 seconds in the standard 2MASS data product. This yielded a point source detection limit (3 \sigma) of +18.5^m in K_s band. The resulting co-added images were processed to remove point sources to a limiting surface brightness of +20^m/arcsec$^2 or 40 nW/m^2/sr. The remaining maps contained over 90% of the pixels and were Fourier transformed to study the spatial structure of the diffuse background light. After removing resolved sources and other artifacts, we find that the power spectrum of the final images has a power-law distribution consistent with clustering by distant galaxies. We estimate here the contributions to this signal from Galactic foregrounds, atmospheric OH-glow, zodiacal light and instrument noise, all of which are small and of different slopes. Hence, this supports the KOMSC identification of the signal as coming from the CIB fluctuations produced by distant clustered galaxies.

We present the largest galaxies as seen in the near-infrared (1–2 μm), imaged with the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS), ranging in angular size from 1' to 15. We highlight the 100 largest in the sample. The galaxies span all Hubble morphological types, including elliptical galaxies, normal and barred spirals, and dwarf and peculiar classes. The 2MASS Large Galaxy Atlas provides the necessary sensitivity and angular resolution to examine in detail morphologies in the near-infrared, which may be radically different from those in the optical. Internal structures such as spirals, bulges, warps, rings, bars, and star formation regions are resolved by 2MASS. In addition to large mosaic images, the atlas includes astrometric, photometric, and shape global measurements for each galaxy. A comparison of fundamental measures (e.g., surface brightness, Hubble type) is carried out for the sample and compared with the Third Reference Catalogue. We further showcase NGC 253 and M51 (NGC 5194/5195) to demonstrate the quality and depth of the data. The atlas represents the first uniform, all-sky, dust-penetrated view of galaxies of every type, as seen in the near-infrared wavelength window that is most sensitive to the dominant mass component of galaxies. The images and catalogs are available through the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database and Infrared Science Archive and are part of the 2MASS Extended Source Catalog.

We present the discovery of a bright (J = 13.94$\pm$0.03) T dwarf, 2MASS 1503+2525, identified in a new, wide-field search for T dwarfs using the recently completed Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS). The 1--2.5 $\micron$ spectrum of this object exhibits the strong H$_2$O and CH$_4$ bands characteristic of mid- and late-type T dwarfs, and we derive a spectral type of T5.5 using both the Burgasser et al. and the Geballe et al. classification schemes. Based on its spectral type and the absolute magnitudes of known T dwarfs, we estimate the distance of this object as 8$\pm$3 pc if it is single, likely within 10 pc of the Sun. Our new 2MASS search, which covers 74% of the sky and greatly expands on earlier color constraints, should identify 15--25 new T dwarfs with J $\leq$ 16. Combined with the 20 known members of this class that already fall within our search criteria, our new sample will provide improved statistics for such key quantities as the binary fraction and the field substellar mass function. Furthermore, multiple detections from overlapping 2MASS scans provide multiple epoch astrometry and photometry, and we present proper motions for five T dwarfs in our sample., accepted for publication to AJ February 2003; 10 pages including 4 figures, uses emulateapj5 package

We report first results for the cosmic infrared background (CIB) fluctuations at 1.25, 1.65 and 2.17 micron obtained from long exposures constructed from 2MASS standard star fields. We have co-added and analyzed scans from one such field with a total exposure time > 1 hour, and removed sources and other artifacts. The stars and galaxies were clipped out to K_s~19^m leaving only high-z galaxies (or possibly local low-surface-brightness systems). The residual component of the diffuse emission on scales from a few arc-sec to a few arc-min has a power-law slope consistent with emission produced by clustered galaxies. The noise (and residual artifacts) contribution to the signal is small and the colors of the signal are very different from Galactic stars or air-glow. We therefore identify the signal as CIB fluctuations from the faint unresolved galaxies. We show that the present-day galaxies with no evolution would produce a significant deficit in the observed CIB fluctuations. Thus the dominant contribution to the observed signal must come from high z and may indicate high rates of star formation at those epochs., Ap. J. Letters, in press

Optical broadband polarimetry is presented for near-infrared color-selected active galactic nuclei (AGNs) classified as quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) based on their Ks-band luminosity. More than 10% of a sample of 70 QSOs discovered in the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) with J-Ks > 2 and M 3%), and values range to a maximum of P ~ 11%. High polarization tends to be associated with the most luminous objects at Ks and with QSOs having the highest near-IR-to-optical flux ratios. The 2MASS QSO sample includes objects possessing a wide range of optical spectral types. High polarization is seen in two of 22 broad emission-line (type 1) objects, but ~ of the QSOs of intermediate spectral type (type 1.5-1.9) are highly polarized. None of the nine QSOs classified as type 2 exhibit P > 3%. It is likely that the unavoidable inclusion of unpolarized starlight from the host galaxy within the observation aperture results in reduced polarization for the narrow emission-line objects. The high polarization of 2MASS-discovered QSOs supports the conclusion inferred from their near-IR and optical colors: that the nuclei of many of these objects are obscured to some degree by dust. Correlations between optical polarization and near-IR luminosity and color imply that the dominant polarizing mechanism in the sample is scattering of AGN light into our line of sight by material located in relatively unobscured regions near the nucleus. The broadband polarization properties of the 2MASS QSO sample are compared to those of other, predominantly radio-quiet, QSOs and are found to be consistent with the idea that the orientation of AGNs to the line of sight plays a major role in determining their observed properties.

PS16dtm was classified as a candidate tidal disruption event (TDE) in a dwarf Seyfert 1 galaxy with low-mass black hole ($\sim10^6M\odot$) and has presented various intriguing photometric and spectra characteristics. Using the archival WISE and the newly released NEOWISE data, we found PS16dtm is experiencing a mid-infrared (MIR) flare which started $\sim11$ days before the first optical detection. Interpreting the MIR flare as a dust echo requires close pre-existing dust with a high covering factor, and suggests the optical flare may have brightened slowly for some time before it became bright detectable from the ground. More evidence is given at the later epochs. At the peak of the optical light curve, the new inner radius of the dust torus has grown to much larger size, a factor of 7 of the initial radius due to strong radiation field. At $\sim150$ days after the first optical detection, the dust temperature has dropped well below the sublimation temperature. Other peculiar spectral features shown by PS16dtm are the transient, prominent FeII emission lines and outflows indicated by broad absorption lines detected during the optical flare. Our model explains the enhanced FeII emission from iron newly released from the evaporated dust. The observed broad absorption line outflow could be explained by accelerated gas in the dust torus due to the radiation pressure., Comment: Accepted by ApJ, 5 figures

The Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) is finding previously unidentified, luminous red active galactic nuclei (AGN). This new sample has a space density similar to, or greater than, previously known AGN, suggesting that a large fraction of the overall population has been missed. Chandra observations of a well-defined subset of these objects reveal that all are X-ray faint, with the reddest sources being the faintest in X-rays. The X-ray hardness ratios cover a wide range, generally indicating log NH ~21-23 /cm*2, but the softest sources show no spectral evidence for intrinsic absorption. These characteristics suggest that a mix of absorbed, direct emission and unabsorbed, scattered and/or extended emission contributes to the X-ray flux, although we cannot rule out the possibility that they are intrinsically X-ray weak. This population of X-ray faint, predominantly broad-line objects could provide the missing population of X-ray absorbed AGN required by current models of the cosmic X-ray background. The existence of AGN which display both broad emission lines and absorbed X-rays has important implications for unification schemes and emphasizes the need for care in assigning classifications to individual AGN.

IR spectroscopy and photometry in the 0.8–2.4 and 3–14 μmregions are reported for seven dates between March 21 1998 and July20 2000 UT. The shorter wavelength region displays a smooth continuum increasing to longerwavelengths that is indicative of the Wien tail of a Planck function. Only theHe I 1.0830 line is present early and it shows a P-Cygni profile which laterdisappears. The long wave spectra show a smooth continuum between 3 and 13μm that was well fit by a gray body at 1000 K. A weak, unidentifiedemission feature appears between 8 and 10 μm.

The Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) provides an unprecedented, uniform photometric data set for large samples of AGN discovered at other wavelengths, and also forms the basis to search for previously unknown, obscured AGN. We present the results of a highly efficient near infrared color-based AGN survey using 2MASS that has already discovered 485 new, red AGN and QSOs. The extrapolated surface density of the 2MASS red AGN is ~0.57 deg~−2 for Ks≤15.5 mag. The ratio of Type 1 to Type 2 AGN among the newly discovered objects is 4:1, similar to proportions found in X-ray and deep ISO surveys, but the inverse of that found in IRAS surveys. The median redshift of the the new 2MASS red AGN sample is z

We use NEOWISE data from the four-band and three-band cryogenic phases of the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer mission to constrain size distributions of the comet populations and debias measurements of the short- and long-period comet (LPC) populations. We find that the fit to the debiased LPC population yields a cumulative size−frequency distribution (SFD) power-law slope (β) of −1.0 ± 0.1, while the debiased Jupiter-family comet (JFC) SFD has a steeper slope with β = −2.3 ± 0.2. The JFCs in our debiased sample yielded a mean nucleus size of 1.3 km in diameter, while the LPCs' mean size is roughly twice as large, 2.1 km, yielding mean size ratios (〈D_(LPC)〉/〈D_(JFC)〉) that differ by a factor of 1.6. Over the course of the 8 months of the survey, our results indicate that the number of LPCs passing within 1.5 au are a factor of several higher than previous estimates, while JFCs are within the previous range of estimates of a few thousand down to sizes near 1.3 km in diameter. Finally, we also observe evidence for structure in the orbital distribution of LPCs, with an overdensity of comets clustered near 110° inclination and perihelion near 2.9 au that is not attributable to observational bias.

Wise mapped the entire sky in four bands during its approximately 7-month cryogenic mission. The number of exposures for each point on the sky increased with ecliptic latitude, and ranged from ~12 on the ecliptic to over 1000 at the ecliptic poles. The observing cadence is well suited to studying variable objects with periods between ~2 hours to ~2 days on the ecliptic, with the maximum period increasing up to several weeks near the ecliptic poles. We present the method used to identify several types of variables in the Wise Preliminary Release Database, and the mid-IR light curves of several objects. Many of these objects are new, and include RR Lyr, Algol, W UMa, Mira, BL Lac and YSO-type variables, as well as some unknown objects.

Only a very small fraction of the asteroid population at size scales comparable to the object that exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia has been discovered to date, and physical properties are poorly characterized. We present previously unreported detections of 106 close approaching near-Earth objects (NEOs) by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer mission's NEOWISE project. These infrared observations constrain physical properties such as diameter and albedo for these objects, many of which are found to be smaller than 100 m. Because these objects are intrinsically faint, they were detected by WISE during very close approaches to the Earth, often at large apparent on-sky velocities. We observe a trend of increasing albedo with decreasing size, but as this sample of NEOs was discovered by visible light surveys, it is likely that selection biases against finding small, dark NEOs influence this finding., Comment: Accepted to ApJ

The AllWISE processing pipeline has measured motions for all objects detected on WISE images taken between 2010 January and 2011 February. In this paper, we discuss new capabilities made to the software pipeline in order to make motion measurements possible, and we characterize the resulting data products for use by future researchers. Using a stringent set of selection criteria, we find 22,445 objects that have significant AllWISE motions, of which 3,525 have motions that can be independently confirmed from earlier 2MASS images yet lack any published motions in SIMBAD. Another 58 sources lack 2MASS counterparts and are presented as motion candidates only. Limited spectroscopic follow-up of this list has already revealed eight new L subdwarfs. These may provide the first hints of a "subdwarf gap" at mid-L types that would indicate the break between the stellar and substellar populations at low metallicities (i.e., old ages). Another object in the motion list -- WISEA J154045.67-510139.3 -- is a bright (J ~ 9 mag) object of type M6; both the spectrophotometric distance and a crude preliminary parallax place it ~6 pc from the Sun. We also compare our list of motion objects to the recently published list of 762 WISE motion objects from Luhman (2014). While these first large motion studies with WISE data have been very successful in revealing previously overlooked nearby dwarfs, both studies missed objects that the other found, demonstrating that many other nearby objects likely await discovery in the AllWISE data products., Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal. Table 3 is a machine-readable ASCII file

NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft has been brought out of hibernation and has resumed surveying the sky at 3.4 and 4.6 um. The scientific objectives of the NEOWISE reactivation mission are to detect, track, and characterize near-Earth asteroids and comets. The search for minor planets resumed on December 23, 2013, and the first new near-Earth object (NEO) was discovered six days later. As an infrared survey, NEOWISE detects asteroids based on their thermal emission and is equally sensitive to high and low albedo objects; consequently, NEOWISE-discovered NEOs tend to be large and dark. Over the course of its three-year mission, NEOWISE will determine radiometrically-derived diameters and albedos for approximately 2000 NEOs and tens of thousands of Main Belt asteroids. The 32 months of hibernation have had no significant effect on the mission's performance. Image quality, sensitivity, photometric and astrometric accuracy, completeness, and the rate of minor planet detections are all essentially unchanged from the prime mission's post-cryogenic phase., Comment: ApJ accepted

We describe a methodology to classify periodic variable stars identified using photometric time-series measurements constructed from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) full-mission single-exposure Source Databases. This will assist in the future construction of a WISE Variable Source Database that assigns variables to specific science classes as constrained by the WISE observing cadence with statistically meaningful classification probabilities. We have analyzed the WISE light curves of 8273 variable stars identified in previous optical variability surveys (MACHO, GCVS, and ASAS) and show that Fourier decomposition techniques can be extended into the mid-IR to assist with their classification. Combined with other periodic light-curve features, this sample is then used to train a machine-learned classifier based on the random forest (RF) method. Consistent with previous classification studies of variable stars in general, the RF machine-learned classifier is superior to other methods in terms of accuracy, robustness against outliers, and relative immunity to features that carry little or redundant class information. For the three most common classes identified by WISE: Algols, RR Lyrae, and W Ursae Majoris type variables, we obtain classification efficiencies of 80.7%, 82.7%, and 84.5% respectively using cross-validation analyses, with 95% confidence intervals of approximately +/-2%. These accuracies are achieved at purity (or reliability) levels of 88.5%, 96.2%, and 87.8% respectively, similar to that achieved in previous automated classification studies of periodic variable stars., Comment: 48 pages, 17 figures, 1 table, accepted by AJ

We present near-infrared J (1.25 mum), H (1.65 mum), and K-s (2.17 mum) imaging of the entire supernova remnant IC 443 from the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS), and Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) LWS observations of [O I] for 11 positions in the northeast.

We present optical observations of two remarkable new active galactic nuclei (AGNs) discovered by the Two Micron All Sky Survey. Both are classified as quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) based on their optical spectra, near-IR colors, and near-IR and [O III] λ5007 luminosities, but their optical polarizations are among the highest seen for nonblazar AGNs—approaching 15% for 2MASSI J151653.2+190048. The polarized light spectrum for each object exhibits broad Balmer emission lines but lacks the narrow lines that are evident in the total light spectrum. This is most pronounced for the type 1.5 object 2MASSI J165939.7+183436, where broad lines dominate only in polarized light. The polarization properties of these AGNs suggest that dust near the nucleus at least partially obscures the AGNs and that material probably intermixed with the narrow-line-emitting gas scatters nuclear light into our line of sight. These QSOs illustrate the variety of highly polarized AGNs that have been missed by traditional optical search techniques and demonstrate that such objects are exposed by surveys in the near-IR.

Several very cool carbon stars have been found in or beyond the Galactic halo in the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS). All appear to be N (C‐N) type asymptotic branch giants, much redder than most carbon stars found at high Galactic latitude at optical wavelengths. Three are heavily dust enshrouded, radiate primarily in the thermal infrared at temperatures of order 1000 K, and are IRAS sources. Low‐resolution red spectrophotometry with the Keck II and Palomar 5 m telescopes shows red to extremely red continua with CN absorption bands, similar to IRAS SSC 08546+1732, which is detected here (2MASSI J0857258+172052). One object, 2MASSI J0401097+182807, featured an overlying low‐excitation emission‐line spectrum with neutral alkalis (K i, Rb i, and Cs i), which disappeared after 19 months. This is argued to be due to vigorous mass loss probably associated with Mira‐like pulsations. These initial results suggest that 2MASS can be used to define a useful sample at high Galactic latitude as tracers of ...