The Tenth SDSS Data Release (DR10)

DR10 Facts
Imaging sky coverage	14,555 square degrees
Optical galaxy spectra	1,848,851
Optical quasar spectra	308,377
Optical stellar spectra	736,484
Infrared stellar spectra	57,454

Data Release 10 (DR10) offers the latest data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. DR10 is the first release of the spectra from the SDSS-III's Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE), which uses infrared spectroscopy to study tens of thousands of stars in the Milky Way.

DR10 also includes hundreds of thousands of new galaxy and quasar spectra from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS), in addition to all imaging and spectra from prior SDSS data releases. The principal changes from DR9 are summarized in the What's New in DR10.

DR10 SDSS/BOSS sky coverage
(click for a larger version)

DR10 APOGEE sky coverage
(click for a larger version)

Using DR10

The figures to the right shows the sky coverage of DR10. The top figure shows the sky coverage in imaging and optical spectroscopy; the bottom figure shows the sky coverage in infrared spectroscopy.

The Scope of DR10 provides more detailed information about DR10 sky coverage, and includes a coverage check form that links directly to SDSS imaging and optical spectroscopy data.

The items in the menubar above contain the following information about DR10:

What's new? explains the differences between DR10 and previous data releases.
Scope describes what data are available in DR10, including sky coverage, data size, and resolution information.
Data Access shows how to get common types of SDSS data, and provides links to all SDSS data access tools. This is the best place to look for a quick start using SDSS data.
Imaging explains what imaging data DR10 contains. It also provides details on the SDSS imaging pipeline, the calibration process, and what quantities (including units) are available in imaging catalog data.
Optical Spectra explains what data are available from the SDSS's two optical spectrographs (SDSS-I and BOSS), and provides details on associated data including target flags, redshifts, and classifications.
Infrared Spectra explains what data are available from the SDSS's new APOGEE infrared spectrograph, and provides details on associated data including information on the spectra, targets, radial velocities, and determinations of stellar atmospheric parameters.
Algorithms lists some of the principal SDSS-III data processing algorithms, including target selection, and contains complete details on how the algorithms work.
Software provides download instructions and documentation for a variety of software tools for working with SDSS data.
Help contains a glossary, Frequently Asked Questions, and other resources to help you get started in using DR10.
Tutorials provide step-by-step guides to common research and teaching tasks using SDSS data. This is a good place to look for guidance in doing your science with the SDSS.

Complete details about DR10 are documented on this site and in the Data Release 10 paper (Ahn et al. 2013, submitted to ApJS and posted at arXiv:1307.7735).

Acknowledging DR10

Publications using SDSS data are required to include the complete official SDSS-III acknowledgment. Data from the SDSS-III public archive may not be used for any commercial publication or other commercial purpose except with explicit approval by the Astrophysical Research Consortium (ARC). Requests for such use should be directed to the ARC Corporate Office via ARC's Business Manager:

Michael L. Evans

ARC Business Manager

c/o University of Washington, Department of Astronomy

Box 351580

Seattle, WA 98195

Phone: 206-685-7857

email: evans -at- astro dot washington dot edu.