A UKST H survey of the Galactic plane

The need for the survey

Considering the importance of star formation and its variation within and between galaxies it is surprising how little survey work has been done. Gunn made a systematic H survey in the 1950's using coarse grained emulsion and a 6inch telescope, but other work has concentrated on relatively small areas for specific study. The only existing UK Schmidt Telescope (UKST) wide area H survey work dates to the late 1970's (Davis, Elliot & Meaburn, 1976) using mainly coarse grained (though fast) 098 emulsion and a far from optimum filter. Many parts of the plane are unsurveyed, particularly the outer extensions beyond a few degrees from the Galactic equator, whilst the Northern Milky-Way above Dec has not been covered at all. Progress in other wavebands highlights the paucity of the optical counterpart for the study of Galactic gas. There is a clear need for a high resolution optical survey to complement studies at other wavebands.

© Copyright Astronomical Society of Australia 1997