An extensive survey of low mass stars, the most common type of star both in our own galaxy and others.
Cataloging of all detected stars and galaxies.
Infrared measurements from the 2MASS survey have been particularly effective at unveiling previously undiscovered star clusters.[5][6]
Numerical descriptions of point sources (stars, planets, asteroids) and extended sources (galaxies, nebulae) were cataloged by automated computer programs to an average limiting magnitude of about 14. More than 300 million point sources and 1 million extended sources were cataloged. In November 2003, a team of scientists announced the discovery of the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy, at that time the closest known satellite galaxy to the Milky Way, based on analysis of 2MASS stellar data.
The resulting data and images from the survey are currently in the public domain, and may be accessed online for free by anyone.[7] There is also a list of 2MASS science publications with links to free pre-publication copies of the papers.[8]