Browsing by Author "Cotton, W.D"

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    The SARAO MeerKAT 1.3 GHz galactic plane Survey
    (Oxford, 2024) Woudt, P. A.; Goedhart, S; Cotton, W.D
    We present the SARAO MeerKAT Galactic Plane Surv e y (SMGPS), a 1.3 GHz continuum surv e y of almost half of the Galactic Plane (251 ◦≤l ≤358 ◦and 2 ◦≤l ≤61 ◦at | b | ≤1 . ◦5). SMGPS is the largest, most sensitive, and highest angular resolution 1 GHz surv e y of the plane yet carried out, with an angular resolution of 8 arcsec and a broad-band root-mean-square sensitivity of ∼10–20 μJy beam −1 . Here, we describe the first publicly available data release from SMGPS which comprises data cubes of frequenc y-resolv ed images o v er 908–1656 MHz, power-la w fits to the images, and broad-band zeroth moment inte grated intensity images. A thorough assessment of the data quality and guidance for future usage of the data products are given. Finally, we discuss the tremendous potential of SMGPS by showcasing highlights of the Galactic and extragalactic science that it permits. These highlights include the disco v ery of a new population of non-thermal radio filaments; identification of new candidate supernova remnants, pulsar wind nebulae and planetary nebulae; impro v ed radio/mid-infrared classification of rare luminous blue variables and disco v ery of associated extended radio nebulae; new radio stars identified by Bayesian cross- matching techniques; the realization that many of the largest radio-quiet Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) H II region candidates are not true H II regions; and a large sample of previously undisco v ered background H I galaxies in the Zone of Avoidance.