Implications for the Parkes Multibeam All Sky Survey

Whilst our observations were centered on cluster environments, the large survey area means that we also probed lower density environments. Taking the Centaurus field as roughly a factor of 10 times overdense, we can expect on the order of one detection per pointing of the Parkes 13 feed array, when the Parkes Multibeam All Sky Survey begins in late 1996. Early estimates suggest that this survey will discover approximately 5000 new galaxies.

During our survey of the Fornax cluster, a nearby large and bright galaxy, NGC 1365, was detected in two separate pointings of the single beam system. Essentially, one pointing happened to be towards the side of the galaxy rotating towards us, and the other pointing was towards the side of the galaxy rotating away from us, resulting in detections which differed by km s. The survey and reduction technique for the All Sky Survey will need to correctly match signals in nearby beams, and indeed should be capable of mapping at moderate resolution such nearby, bright galaxies.

© Copyright Astronomical Society of Australia 1997