The AKARI far-infrared all-sky survey maps

We present a far-infrared all-sky atlas from a sensitive all-sky survey using the Japanese AKARI satellite. The survey covers >99% of the sky in four photometric bands centred at 65 μm, 90 μm, 140 μm, and 160 μm, with spatial resolutions ranging from 1' to 1".5. These data provide crucial information on the investigation and characterisation of the properties of dusty material in the interstellar medium (ISM), since a significant portion of itsenergy is emitted between ∼ 50 and 200μm. The large-scale distribution of interstellar clouds, their thermal dust temperatures, and their column densities can be investigated with the improved spatial resolution compared to earlier all-sky survey observations. In addition to the point source distribution, the large-scale distribution of ISM cirrus emission, and its filamentary structure, are well traced. We have made the first public release of the full-sky data to provide a legacy data set for use in the astronomical communit