NASA / IPAC Extragalactic Database

05/02/2025

The April 2025 NED content release is now public! This includes:

- 893K sources from the literature were ingested, including 793K cross-matches with NED objects and 100K new objects,
increasing NED objects with redshifts by 300K.
- Over 300K sources with spectroscopic redshifts from large area surveys: HETDEX, HectoMAP, etc.
- New galaxies and redshifts from several high-z JWST studies: JWST Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES), etc.
- 16K local galaxies and redshifts from The 50 Mpc Galaxy Catalog.

For more details, please visit our release news page at
https://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/Documents/Overview/Release

Also, please spread the word about the document "Best Practices
for Data Publication in the Astronomical Literature (Chen et al. 2022
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/search/q=2022ApJS..260....5C ).

Feel free to contact us via the interface or direct e-mail at
[email protected]

The NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED) is funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Award Number 80NSSC21M0037, and operated by the California Institute of Technology.

02/12/2025

The January 2025 version of NED-Local Volume Sample (NED-LVS) includes
new objects ingested by NED and the removal of newly identified non-galaxy
contaminants. This updated version contains a total of 2.07M objects, an
increase of 203K (10%) over the previous version, where 30K of the newly
added objects (after contaminant removal) are from the literature
and 173K originate from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument Early Data Release
(DESI-EDR; DESI Collaboration, 2024). Each release of NED-LVS is accompanied
by an additional round of vetting of both newly ingested objects and those
from the previous version to ensure that this sample will provide a robust
and highly complete census of the local Universe.

Beginning Feb 10, 2025 NED Gravitational Wave Follow-up (NED-GWF) Service
utilizes the updated version of NED-LVS (January 2025) which includes new
objects ingested by NED and the removal of newly identified non-galaxy contaminants.

Click on https://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/NED::LVS/ for more details.

The NED Local Volume Sample (NED-LVS) is a subset of ~2 million objects in NED with distances out to 1000 Mpc. The distances selected for NED-LVS are based on both redshifts (~99%) and redshift-independent distances, where the latter are prioritized at distances less than 200 Mpc. Photometry from al...

02/03/2025

The January 2025 NED software release is now public. This includes:
- Database relations and query software for photometry have major updates.
- Photometry (SED) and spectral line data are now presented in separate tables (tabs).
- SED plots now have flux (nuF_nu) on the Y axis by default (changeable in the UI).
- Search results containing multiple objects now include coordinates in decimal degrees and sexagesimal formats.
- Cone search for objects near an input name or position includes support for IAU style inputs and redshift constraints.
- A new version of the IPAC Firefly UI framework used for interactive tables and graphics provides a modernized look and supports dark mode.
For further details, please visit

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument Early Data Release (DESI-EDR; DESI Collaboration, 2024) catalog has been integrated into NED. DESI-EDR includes measured properties such as positions, object types (galaxy, star, QSO) and redshift information for 1.85 million unique objects, out of which 70&p...

09/18/2024

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument Early Data Release (DESI-EDR; DESI Collaboration, 2024) catalog has been integrated into NED. DESI-EDR includes measured properties such as positions, object types (galaxy, star, QSO) and redshift information for 1.85 million unique objects, out of which 70&p...

09/18/2024

The September 2024 release of NED is out!

This includes:

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument Early Data Release
catalog has been integrated into NED. DESI-EDR includes
measured properties such as positions, object types
(galaxy, star, QSO) and redshift information for 1.85 million
unique objects

- 2 million new redshift measurements were added
- 253K new object links to over 2,100 new references,
- 61K galaxies and redshifts from the JWST UNCOVER Survey

For more details, please visit our release news page at
https://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/Documents/Overview/Release

Also, please spread the word about the document "Best Practices
for Data Publication in the Astronomical Literature (Chen et al. 2022
https://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/uri/ADS::Bibcode/2022ApJS..260....5C).

Feel free to contact us via the interface or direct e-mail at
[email protected]

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument Early Data Release (DESI-EDR; DESI Collaboration, 2024) catalog has been integrated into NED. DESI-EDR includes measured properties such as positions, object types (galaxy, star, QSO) and redshift information for 1.85 million unique objects, out of which 70&p...

02/23/2024

The February 2024 release of NED is out!

This includes:
- 172K new object links to over 800 new references,
- 162K new redshift measurements were added, including data for 24K objects that previously had no redshift

Additionally, the NED gravitational wave follow-up service
https://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/NED::GWFoverview/
is continuing to cross-match galaxies with LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) GW events for the fourth observing run. The prioritization scheme is based on the joint WISE luminosity and the 3D volume probabilities, and the NED-LVS galaxy sample (Cook et al. 2023 https://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/uri/ADS::Bibcode/2023ApJS..268...14C)

Also, please spread the word about the document "Best Practices for Data Publication in the Astronomical Literature (Chen et al. 2022 https://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/uri/ADS::Bibcode/2022ApJS..260....5C)".

The purpose of this NED service is to facilitate searches for electromagnetic (EM) counterparts to gravitational wave (GW) events. Within minutes after the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO)-Virgo-Kagra collaboration (LVK) issues an alert using the General Coordinates Network...

01/06/2024

NED is at the 243rd AAS meeting! The "Best Practices for Data Publication in the Astronomical Literature" workshop will be in the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Room 209 from 2:00pm-4:00pm today. You can also find us at the Caltech/IPAC booth (Booth 615) in the exhibit hall from Sunday evening, Jan 7 through Wednesday, Jan 10. Come talk to us and get a demo on the latest features and functions of the NED's User Interface!

12/22/2023

We wish to thank everyone who participated in the 2023 NED User Survey (Oct 18 to Dec 4). The valuable feedback provided deepens our understanding of the evolving needs of the community as we continue to expand NED's holdings and science functionality.

We would also like to remind people to register for the workshop on the "Best Practices for Data Publication in the Astronomical Literature" (2022ApJS..260....5C https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4365/ac6268) at the 243rd AAS meeting on Jan. 6, 2024 at 2:00 PM. The last day to register in Jan 2.

The American Astronomical Society (AAS), established in 1899 and based in Washington, DC, is the major organization of professional astronomers in North America. Its membership of about 7,000 individuals also includes physicists, mathematicians, geologists, engineers, and others whose research and e...

11/27/2023

A friendly reminder that NED is conducting a user survey to gather feedback from our community, and the survey is scheduled to conclude on Monday, December 4th. If you can spare 5 to 8 minutes, we would greatly appreciate your input.

Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own surveys for free.

10/23/2023

NED is running a workshop on the "Best Practices for Data Publication in the Astronomical Literature" (2022ApJS..260....5C) at the 243rd AAS meeting. If you are interested in attending, please include the workshop when you register for the AAS243 meeting. Looking forward to seeing you there!

10/19/2023

NED is running a user's survey to collect your feedback regarding our current content and services. Please help us better understand your needs and establish priorities for planning future database developments. This survey consists of 12 questions and should take about 5-8 mins. Thank you!

Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own surveys for free.

08/29/2023

The August 2023 release of NED is out! We added 171K new object links to over 1300 new references, 153K new sources cross-identified with NED objects, and 98 K new redshift measurements. Additionally, the NED gravitational wave follow-up service is also updated with a new galaxy prioritization scheme based on the joint WISE luminosity and the 3D volume probabilities, and the NED-LVS galaxy sample. For more details, please visit our release news page at
https://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/Documents/Overview/Release