def backgroundMMD(self, catalog, method='cloud-in-cells', weights=None):
        """
        Generate an empirical background model in magnitude-magnitude space.
        
        INPUTS:
            catalog: Catalog object
        OUTPUTS:
            background
        """

        # Select objects in annulus
        cut_annulus = self.roi.inAnnulus(catalog.lon,catalog.lat)
        mag_1 = catalog.mag_1[cut_annulus]
        mag_2 = catalog.mag_2[cut_annulus]

        # Units are (deg^2)
        solid_angle = ugali.utils.binning.take2D(self.solid_angle_mmd, mag_2, mag_1,
                                                 self.roi.bins_mag, self.roi.bins_mag)

        # Weight each object before binning
        # Divide by solid angle and bin size in magnitudes to get number density 
        # [objs / deg^2 / mag^2]
        if weights is None:
            number_density = (solid_angle*self.roi.delta_mag**2)**(-1)
        else:
            number_density = weights*(solid_angle*self.roi.delta_mag**2)**(-1)

        method = str(method).lower()
        if method == 'cloud-in-cells':
            # Apply cloud-in-cells algorithm
            mmd_background = ugali.utils.binning.cloudInCells(mag_2,mag_1,
                                                              [self.roi.bins_mag,self.roi.bins_mag],
                                                              weights=number_density)[0]
        elif method == 'bootstrap':
            # Not implemented
            raise ValueError("Bootstrap method not implemented")
            mag_1 + (mag_1_err * np.random.normal(0, 1., len(mag_1)))
            mag_2 + (mag_2_err * np.random.normal(0, 1., len(mag_2)))

        elif method == 'histogram':
            # Apply raw histogram
            mmd_background = np.histogram2d(mag_1,mag_2,bins=[self.roi.bins_mag,self.roi.bins_mag],
                                            weights=number_density)[0]

        elif method == 'kde':
            # Gridded kernel density estimator
            logger.warning("### KDE not implemented properly")
            mmd_background = ugali.utils.binning.kernelDensity(mag_2,mag_1,
                                                               [self.roi.bins_mag,self.roi.bins_mag],
                                                               weights=number_density)[0]
        elif method == 'uniform':
            logger.warning("### WARNING: Uniform CMD")
            hist = np.histogram2d(mag_1,mag_2,bins=[self.roi.bins_mag,self.roi.bins_mag], 
                                  weights=number_density)[0]
            mmd_background = np.mean(hist)*np.ones(hist.shape)
            observable = (self.solid_angle_mmd > self.minimum_solid_angle)
            mmd_background *= observable
            return mmd_background
        else:
            raise ValueError("Unrecognized method: %s"%method)
        ## Account for the objects that spill out of the observable space
        ## But what about the objects that spill out to red colors??
        #for index_color in range(0, len(self.roi.centers_color)):
        #    for index_mag in range(0, len(self.roi.centers_mag)):
        #        if self.solid_angle_cmd[index_mag][index_color] < self.minimum_solid_angle:
        #            cmd_background[index_mag - 1][index_color] += cmd_background[index_mag][index_color]
        #            cmd_background[index_mag][index_color] = 0.
        #            break

        mmd_area = self.solid_angle_mmd*self.roi.delta_mag**2 # [deg^2 * mag^2]

        # ADW: This accounts for leakage to faint magnitudes
        # But what about the objects that spill out to red colors??
        # Maximum obsevable magnitude index for each color (uses the fact that
        # np.argmin returns first minimum (zero) instance found.
        # NOTE: More complicated maps may have holes causing problems

        observable = (self.solid_angle_mmd > self.minimum_solid_angle)
        index_mag_1 = observable.argmin(axis=0) - 1
        index_mag_2 = np.arange(len(self.roi.centers_mag))
        # Add the cumulative leakage back into the last bin of the CMD
        leakage = (mmd_background * ~observable).sum(axis=0)
        ### mmd_background[[index_mag_1,index_mag_2]] += leakage
        # Zero out all non-observable bins
        ### mmd_background *= observable

        # Avoid dividing by zero by setting empty bins to the value of the 
        # minimum filled bin of the CMD. This choice is arbitrary and 
        # could be replaced by a static minimum, some fraction of the 
        # CMD maximum, some median clipped minimum, etc. However, should 
        # be robust against outliers with very small values.
        min_mmd_background = max(mmd_background[mmd_background > 0.].min(),
                                 1e-4*mmd_background.max())
        mmd_background[observable] = mmd_background[observable].clip(min_mmd_background)

        ### # ADW: This is a fudge factor introduced to renormalize the CMD
        ### # to the number of input stars in the annulus. While leakage
        ### # will still smooth the distribution, it shouldn't result in 
        ### fudge_factor = len(mag) / float((cmd_background*cmd_area).sum())
        ### cmd_background *= fudge_factor

        return mmd_background