Census of blue stars in SDSS DR8
  We present a census of the 12,060 spectra of blue objects ($(g-r)_0<-0.25$)
in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 8 (DR8). As part of the
data release, all of the spectra were cross-correlated with 48 template spectra
of stars, galaxies and QSOs to determine the best match. We compared the blue
spectra by eye to the templates assigned in SDSS DR8. 10,856 of the objects
matched their assigned template, 170 could not be classified due to low
signal-to-noise (S/N), and 1034 were given new classifications. We identify
7458 DA white dwarfs, 1145 DB white dwarfs, 273 rarer white dwarfs (including
carbon, DZ, DQ, and magnetic), 294 subdwarf O stars, 648 subdwarf B stars, 679
blue horizontal branch stars, 1026 blue stragglers, 13 cataclysmic variables,
129 white dwarf - M dwarf binaries, 36 objects with spectra similar to DO white
dwarfs, 179 QSOs, and 10 galaxies. We provide two tables of these objects,
sample spectra that match the templates, figures showing all of the spectra
that were grouped by eye, and diagnostic plots that show the positions, colors,
apparent magnitudes, proper motions, etc. for each classification. Future
surveys will be able to use templates similar to stars in each of the classes
we identify to classify blue stars, including rare types, automatically.
