The Spitzer Survey of Stellar Structure in Galaxies (S^4^G) is an Exploration Science Legacy Program approved for the Spitzer post-cryogenic mission. It is a volume-, magnitude-, and size-limited (d30{deg}, m_Bcorr_1') survey of 2331 galaxies using the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) at 3.6 and 4.5um. Each galaxy is observed for 240s and mapped to >=1.5D_25_. The final mosaicked images have a typical 1sigma rms noise level of 0.0072 and 0.0093MJy/sr at 3.6 and 4.5um, respectively. Our azimuthally averaged surface brightness profile typically traces isophotes at {mu}3.6um(AB)(1sigma)~27mag/arcsec^2^, equivalent to a stellar mass surface density of ~1M_{sun}_/pc^2^. thus provides an unprecedented data set for the study of the distribution of mass and stellar structures in the local universe. This large, unbiased, and extremely deep sample of all Hubble types from dwarfs to spirals to ellipticals will allow for detailed structural studies, not only as a function of stellar mass, but also as a function of the local environment. This article introduces the survey and describes the sample selection, the significance of the 3.6 and 4.5um bands for this study, and the data collection and survey strategies.
Cone search capability for table J/PASP/122/1397/s4g (S^4^G catalog Version 2 (2013-09))
