The MOST Galactic Center Survey - I. Survey images and results on Sgr A-E

The Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope (MOST) has been used recently to make a new survey of the Galactic Centre region at 843 MHz, spanning Galactic longitudes l = 335°–360°–5° and Galactic latitudes in the range | b | < 2°.5. The resolution of the MOST at the declination of the Galactic Centre (δ = – 29°) is 90 × 43.5 arcsec2 and the sensitivity is ∼ 5 mJy beam–1 (dynamic-range-limited). The survey presents an unprecedented vista of the Galactic Centre and inner Galactic plane at a frequency near 1 GHz. This paper gives general discussions of some of the preliminary results of this survey, including wide-field images of the Galactic Centre region. Further papers will discuss specific results of the survey in detail.