A composite CO survey of the entire Milky Way
T. M. Dame, H. Ungerechts, R. S. Cohen, E. J. De Geus, I. A. Grenier, J. May, D. C. Murphy, L. A. Nyman, P. Thaddeus;
ApJ, 1987, 322, 706
ABSTRACT:Large-scale CO surveys of the entire Galactic plane and specific nearby clouds have been combined to
produce a panorama of the entire Milky Way in molecular clouds at an angular
resolution of 1/2 deg.
This survey is the only molecular line survey to date with
sky coverage and resolution comparable to that of the early 21 cm
surveys.
The telescopes and the observing techniques used for the individual
surveys and the methods of reconciling the survey results are described.
The
composite survey is presented as a spatial map integrated over velocity and as a
longitude-velocity map integrated over latitude; individual clouds and large-scale
features of the maps are briefly discussed.
The distribution and properties of
molecular clouds within 1 kpc of the sun are investigated, and a comparison with
other Population I tracers is used to demonstrate that the composite survey
probably provides a nearly complete inventory of nearby molecular clouds.
KEYWORDS: abundance, carbon monoxide, infrared astronomy satellite, milky way galaxy, molecular clouds, interstellar gas, nebulae, normal density functions
PERSOKEY:co, milky way, h2, ,
CODE: dame87