Southern galactic plane CO survey

Preliminary results are presented for a survey of J=1–0¹²CO emission being carried out at 3 arc intervals along the southern galactic plane in the range 294°358°, –0°.075b0°.075. The longitude-velocity distribution shows well-defined terminal velocities, and is similar to the distribution at corresponding longitudes north of the galactic centre. However, the radial distribution of CO suggests that the southern CO, while concentrated inside the solar circle as in the north, is on the average located about 500 pc further from the galactic centre. Limited estimates of cloud sizes and masses suggest ranges greater than those deduced in previous surveys.On leave from University of British Columbia Vancouver, B.C.