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Today is the third data release from the LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS; see https://lofar-surveys.org/dr3.html and https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202557749). This release covers all data products for 88% of the northern sky, including catalogues containing nearly 14 million sources, individual-field Stokes I, Q, U, and V images, mosaicked Stokes I images, and uv data with associated direction-dependent calibration solutions. These ~700TB of products will be available through https://doi.org/10.25606/SURF.lotss-dr3, which is kindly supported by the LOFAR-ERIC and ASTRON. The release contains almost all of the data (13,000hrs) that we have observed over the last 11 years. It represents a major milestone for LoTSS, as well as one of the original motivations of LOFAR. Hopefully it isn’t quite the end though, as we aim to survey the remaining 12% of the sky with LOFAR2.0 in the coming few years.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support and involvement in LOFAR, LoTSS or the LOFAR surveys collaboration. Without everyone’s contributions over a very long period, this project would not have been possible.
The majority of sources detected in LoTSS have never been seen at radio wavelengths before and the attached 45 square degree cutout image shows the richness of the images. This includes the large radio galaxies NGC 315 and NGC 383 with spectacular, twisted jets powered by central supermassive black holes, as well as the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), showing emission from its supermassive black hole and a large ring of star formation. In the background are ~30,000 more distant radio galaxies that are mostly seen as point sources.