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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 July 2016
Optical wide-field sky surveys have long been basic tools of astronomical investigations. Their extension to the near infrared spectral range, unattainable with photographic techniques, is now possible thanks to the considerable improvements in infrared array technology that have been achieved in the past few years. The astronomical motivations for all-sky 2 μm surveys are summarized, and a brief technical description of the on-going projects, in particular DENIS (Deep Near Infrared Southern Sky Survey) that will be carried out at the European Southern Observatory in 1994–97, is presented.