|
Description
The Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory at Penticton (HIA/NRC), in collaboration with an international Consortium of astronomers, has begun a high-resolution survey of the atomic hydrogen and radio continuum emission from our Milky Way galaxy. By constructing a mosaic of 190 synthesis fields, the survey will cover Galactic longitudes from L=74.2 to 147.3 degrees and latitudes from B=-3.6 to +5.6 degrees, resolving features as small as 1 arcminute. For each mosaic (1024x1024 pixels), atomic hydrogen observations are presented as a data "cube" with 272 spectral channels having a velocity resolution of 1.3km/s. Stokes I continuum images at 1420MHz and 408MHz are produced, as well as selected Stokes Q, U and V images at 1420MHz. Complementary images in the four IRAS infrared bands and data cubes of CO (J=1-0) emission have also been created as part of the Survey. In addition to the 5x5{deg} mosaics, a series of nine 15x15{deg} mosaics of 408MHz emission, and possibly other lower radio frequencies, will be created. Mosaics are archived as they are processed and released to the Consortium. Archived data are in FITS format, except for the occasional text file. Imaging of the molecular phase of the ISM, traced by the CO molecule, has been realized at the Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory. High-resolution IRAS images of the dust component, seen through its infrared emission, have been completed at far-infrared wavelengths at the California Institute of Technology, and in the mid-infrared at the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics at the University of Toronto. Complementary radio continuum images at frequencies below 408MHz are being contributed by the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory of the University of Cambridge and at the Beijing Astronomical Observatory.
|
