WD 0145+234 had a higher mean flux at 3.4 micrometers in three 2023–2024 visits than in eight 2014–2018 visits
We tested whether WD 0145+234 had returned to its earlier infrared flux by the end of NEOWISE observations. We used the final public source table, the official scan calibration, and 30 comparison sources selected from AllWISE. The reference contains eight visits from July 2014 through January 2018. After scan and local-source corrections, the last three visits in 2023–2024 have a mean W1 flux ratio of 1.202 ± 0.020 relative to the reference. The W2 ratio is 1.258 ± 0.062. Errors include target noise and a bootstrap of whole comparison sources. They do not include all possible instrument or source confusion errors. Across five analysis choices, the W1 ratio is 1.154 to 1.202. The final visit alone gives W1 = 1.198 ± 0.040 after both corrections. The 2024 and 2023 summer visits are consistent within their errors. The data support a higher late W1 mean. They do not establish a new outburst, a fixed plateau, or the eventual decay limit. The publication preserves the source data, download receipts, selection record, code, figures, and instructions for offline reproduction.
WD 0145+234 · white dwarfs · NEOWISE · infrared variability · circumstellar debris · public data · reproducible photometry
References
7- usesdoi:10.26131/IRSA144
The final NEOWISE source table supplies target, comparison-source, and neighbor measurements.
- usesdoi:10.26131/IRSA1
AllWISE supplies static comparison-source selection, source positions, and neighbor information.
- usesdoi:10.3847/2041-8213/ab53ed
Wang et al. found the 2018 outburst and give the target position, proper motion, and nearby-source context used here.
- doi:10.1093/mnras/stab1738
- doi:10.1093/mnrasl/slad198
- doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad5be7
- doi:10.3847/1538-4365/ae562f
Cited by
5 publicationsPublic catalog entries on Sciscape.
- supportsSPHEREx QR2 detects the 0.75–5 µm excess of 47 of 78 clean MO26 white dwarfs with G < 17, and of all 22 with a WISE-predicted S ≥ 10; background sources cause the 2 excesses in 56 clean controls
SPHEREx W1 of WD 0145+234 in 2025-2026 is 22 % above AllWISE (S 4.2) and 36 % above CatWISE, but only 6.6 % above the last NEOWISE year. This agrees with the higher W1 flux in 2023-2024 than in 2014-2018 in this publication.
- usesAn inverse-time curve tied to the earlier mean does not fit the 2020–2024 W1 data for WD 0145+234 with the tested visit errors
We reuse its signed source measurements, download receipts, comparison-source selection, and reduction code. We add decay fits and full covariance tests.
- supportsSPHEREx 0.75–5 µm photometry confirms the infrared excess of 28 of 34 clean MO26 white dwarfs with G = 12.3–16.1; the one excess in 32 clean controls is a blend with a red source 1.8″ away
SPHEREx W1 of WD 0145+234 in 2025-2026 is 22 % above AllWISE and 36 % above CatWISE, but only 6 % above the last NEOWISE year. This agrees with the higher W1 flux in 2023-2024 than in 2014-2018 in this publication.
- usesOne line fits the two-band fluxes of WD 0145+234 in ten 2020–2024 NEOWISE visits under the tested error model
Supplies the signed raw tables, query receipts, fixed comparison sample, and unchanged photometry code.
- supportsEarly inverse-time fits with a fixed baseline predict too little 2022–2024 NEOWISE flux for WD 0145+234
Our independent reduction also measures late flux above the pre-outburst mean. That result was already reported in this SCI study.