We have imaged about 180 square degrees along the Galactic Plane (7∘ < l < 62∘; -1.5∘ < b < +1.5∘) with WFCAM at UKIRT. The observations are taken with the narrow band filter centred on the atomic Iron emission line ([Fe II] 1.644 μm) with an integration time of 720 sec per pixel.
The [Fe II] 1.644 μm line would highlight regions of predominantly shock-excited dense gas. The emission line is an excellent tracer of dense outflows in young and massive star forming regions, eruptive mass loss from evolved stars, and dense media interacting with supernova remnants.
In this figure, the [Fe II] 1.644 μm emission is shown in blue while H2 2.122 μm is shown in red.
Image Credit: GeMS/GSAOI Team, Gemini Observatory
The survey is designed to cover the same region as in UWISH2 and is to complement the UWISH2 survey. The UWIFE survey is being conducted with the same telescope and detector combination as in the UWISH2 survey, but only with different filter. Further, the survey will complement the UKIDSS Galactic Plane JHK survey, and various other surveys like the IPHAS Ha survey, the VLA 5 Ghz CORNISH survey, etc.
The observations of the UWIFE survey was conducted during 2012 and 2013 seasons. We have covered total of 220 tiles of inner Galactic plane. The coverage of the survey is shown in the figure below.
The white contour outlines the UWIFE survey area in the inner Galactic plane. The black contour outlines the UWISH2 survey coverage that are not included the UWIFE survey. The background RGB composite image are the 2MASS K, H and J band, respectively. The yellow rectangle in the lower right corner shows a nominal size and orientation of a single tile.
The figure below presents the mosaic images of the surveys. The top panel is the RGB composite of GPS J, UWIFE, and UWISH2 survey where the mosaics of each survey are individually displayed in panels below.
