crowdsource removes a rough sky (the median), find the brighter peaks and fits these sources, computes centroids, and then computes an improved PSF. With this model of the image, the code then iteratively subtracts it and recomputes the median to get a better sky estimate, finds fainter peaks, and calculates a better PSF. crowdsource performs at least four iterations, evaluates the results, and continues until certain thresholds are met. Once the iterative passes are complete, it makes one last pass. If no sources are detected and positions do not vary, it performs photometry for the existing list of stellar positions.

desitarget selects targets for spectroscopic follow-up by Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). The pipeline uses bitmasks to record that a specific source has been selected by a particular targeting algorithm, setting bit-values in output data files in a number of different columns that indicate whether a particular target meets specific selection criteria. desitarget also outputs a unique TARGETID that allows each target to be tracked throughout the DESI survey. This TARGETID encodes information about each DESI target, such as the catalog the target was selected from, whether a target is a sky location or part of a random catalog, and whether a target is part of a secondary program.

legacypipe produces DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys (aka the Legacy Surveys). It can process individual exposures from many cameras, including the Dark Energy Camera on the Blanco telescope, the 90Prime camera on the Bok telescope, and the Mosaic3 camera on the Mayall telescope. The code can also process exposures from the Hyper-SuprimeCam on Subaru, the old SuprimeCam on Subaru, MegaCam on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, and image products from the GALEX and WISE satellites. Legacypipe performs source detection, and then measurement via forward-modeling using The Tractor (ascl:1604.008). It generates coadded output images as well as catalogs, plus a variety of metrics useful for understanding the properties of the imaging.

ExtLaw_H18 generates the extinction law between 0.8 - 2.2 microns. The law is derived using the Westerlund 1 (Wd1) main sequence (A_Ks ~ 0.6 mag) and Arches cluster field Red Clump at the Galactic Center (A_Ks ~ 2.7 mag). To derive the law a Wd1 cluster age of 5 Myr is assumed, though changing the cluster age between 4 Myr -- 7 Myr has no effect on the law. This extinction law can be applied to highly reddened stellar populations that have similar foreground material as Wd1 and the Arches RC, namely dust from the spiral arms of the Milky Way in the Galactic Plane.