2010A&A...514A...1I

AKARI is the first Japanese astronomical satellite dedicated to infrared astronomy. One of the main purposes of AKARI is the all-sky survey performed with six infrared bands between 9µm and 200µm during the period from 2006 May 6 to 2007 August 28. In this paper, we present the mid-infrared part (9µm and 18µm bands) of the survey carried out with one of the on-board instruments, the infrared camera (IRC). We present unprecedented observational results of the 9µm and 18µm AKARI all-sky survey and detail the operation and data processing leading to the point source detection and measurements. The raw data are processed to produce small images for every scan, and the point sources candidates are derived above the 5σ noise level per single scan. The celestial coordinates and fluxes of the events are determined statistically and the reliability of their detections is secured through multiple detections of the same source within milli-seconds, hours, and months from each other. The sky coverage is more than 90% for both bands. A total of 877091 sources (851189 for 9µm, 195893 for 18µm) are confirmed and included in the current release of the point source catalog. The detection limit for point sources is 50mJy and 90mJy for the 9µm and 18µm bands, respectively. The position accuracy is estimated to be better than 2''. Uncertainties in the in-flight absolute flux calibration are estimated to be 3% for the 9µm band and 4% for the 18µm band. The coordinates and fluxes of detected sources in this survey are also compared with those of the IRAS survey and are found to be statistically consistent.