SUMSS: A Wide-Field Radio Imaging Survey of the Southern Sky. I. Science Goals, Survey Design, and Instrumentation

Abstract

The Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope, operating at 843 MHz with a 5 square degree field of view, is carrying out a radio imaging survey of the sky south of declination −30 • . This survey (the Sydney University Molonglo Sky Survey, or SUMSS) produces images with a resolution of 43 ′′ × 43 ′′ cosec |δ| and an rms noise level of ∼ 1 mJy beam −1 . SUMSS is therefore similar in sensitivity and resolution to the northern NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS; Condon et al. 1998). The survey is progressing at a rate of about 1000 square degrees per year, yielding individual and statistical data for many thousands of weak radio sources. This paper describes the main characteristics of the survey, and presents sample images from the first year of observation.

Search for Extended Sources in the Galactic Plane Using Six Years of Fermi-Large Area Telescope Pass 8 Data above 10 GeV

“…Middle and right: background-subtracted TS maps of SNR G298.6−0.0 using the same conventions as in Figure 3. The radio contours of G298.6−0.0 and G298.5−0.3 (Sydney University Molonglo Sky Survey at 843 MHz; Bock et al 1999) are overlaid in cyan. A white circle and cross indicate the disk extension and centroid as fit in this work, respectively.…”

The First Murchison Widefield Array low-frequency radio observations of cluster scale non-thermal emission: the case of Abell 3667

“…The Very Large Array Low-Frequency Sky Survey (Cohen et al 2007;Lane et al 2014) at 74 MHz only covers the sky north of −30 • , whilst the Culgoora catalogue (Slee 1995) at 80 and 160 MHz only covers a declination >−50 • . Higher frequency surveys such as the Molonglo Reference Catalog (MRC; Large et al 1991) at 408 MHz and the SUMSS at 843 MHz (Bock, Large & Sadler 1999) extend from −85 • to +18. • 5 and <−30 • , respectively.…”

Radio Supernova 1987A at 843 MHz

“…A simpler alternative method based on the subtraction of a template image representing the observed Ðeld in the absence of emission from SN 1987A now provides reliable Ñux density estimates, albeit with somewhat higher uncertainties. This simpliÐed analysis uses the standard data pipeline developed for the Sydney University Molonglo Sky Survey (Bock, Large, & Sadler 1999), and a comparison of the technique with the more complicated record-correction procedures developed for SN 1987A provides an invaluable test of its reliability. Details of the template image subtraction estimates of the Ñux densities of SN 1987A for 48 observations between 1997 January 1 and 2000 May 5 are presented in Appendix C.…”