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ROSATAll-SkySurvey:Giants&Supergiants

Published by High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center | National Aeronautics and Space Administration | Metadata Last Checked: February 14, 2026 | Last Modified: 2026-02-10
The ROSAT All-Sky Survey Catalogue of Optically Bright Late-Type Giant and Supergiant Stars contains X-ray data for all late-type (spectral types of A through M, inclusive) giants and supergiants (luminosity classes of I through III-IV, inclusive) listed in the Bright Star Catalogue (BSC) that have been detected in the ROSAT All-Sky Survey. The RASS giants and supergiants catalog contains 450 entries of X-ray emitting, evolved late-type stars, which corresponds to an average detection rate of 11.7 percent. For each star, the ROSAT PSPC count rate, the hardness ratio, the apparent X-ray flux (calculated using an individual energy-conversion-factor based on the hardness ratio), and the ratio of X-ray to bolometric flux are given. The full details of the data selection, the source detection criteria, etc., are given in the paper by Huensch, Schmitt and Voges (1998, A&AS, 127, 251) describing this catalog; essentially for a star to be identified as an X-ray source, the X-ray source had to have at least a 99.9 percent existence probability, corresponding to a likelihood of greater than or equal to 7, and lie within 90 arcseconds of the optical position. Given the number of sky locations examined and the total number of RASS sources, it is expected that of order 27.4 of the 450 claimed associations in this catalog will be chance coincidences. This database was created at the HEASARC in July 1998 based on the ADC/<a href="https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/ftp/cats/J/A+AS/127/251">CDS Catalog J/A+AS/127/251</a>. This is a service provided by NASA HEASARC .

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