[Virginia Tech Department of
Physics]

VTSS
The Virginia Tech Spectral-Line Survey

Arcminute-Resolution Digital Images of Interstellar H-alpha and [SII] Emission

Introduction | Image Specifications | Image Types, Sky Coverage | Download Images | Mosaics | Personnel | Results

Use your browser's reload/refresh button to view the most up-to-date version of this page. Data on this page and linked pages are updated regularly.

*** Latest mosaic of Taurus-Orion-Monoceros region ***

Introduction

The VTSS is a wide-field image survey of the Galaxy's warm ionized interstellar medium (WIM, a 10,000 K plasma). The instrumentation used is the Virginia Tech Spectral Line Imaging Camera (SLIC), specially designed for obtaining sensitive, arcminute-resolution, 10-degree wide images of the 6563Å H-alpha recombination line of hydrogen, and the [SII]6717,6731Å doublet emission of singly ionized sulfur. This survey will cover the northern hemisphere (declinations greater than -15 degrees). The results bear upon studies of, for example, Survey images are available for downloading from this site. The images are in FITS format (Flexible Image Transport System). They can be viewed or analyzed in programs such as IRAF (a free unix-based professional astronomical image processing program), FITSview (a free FITS viewer in Unix, Windows, or Macintosh versions), or SIP (a web-based astronomical image processing Java program that runs through your browser). If you use any images for research or other purposes, we request that you use this acknowledgement.

Image Specifications

The survey consists of a set of wide-field images with the following specifications:

Image Types, Sky Coverage

There will be four images available for each field: H-alpha, [SII], Continuum-Corrected H-alpha, and Continuum-Corrected [SII]. The Continuum-Corrected H-alpha and [SII] images are produced by a process including the alignment and subtraction of a suitably scaled version of a continuum image from the H-alpha or [SII] image. (Continuum images are taken with a wide-bandpass filter, or a double-bandpass filter straddling the H-alpha line or [SII] doublet.)

Observations were generally conducted first near the galactic plane proceeding to higher latitudes. Imaging in [SII] was commenced well after many H-alpha observations were complete. Images are made available at this website as they are processed.


Download Images

Field images are made available for download as they are processed. A field's name consists of the three letter abbreviation of the constellation where the field center lies, plus a two digit number (e.g., Cyg13). The coordinates for field centers provided in the following lists and image maps are approximate epoch 2000.0 coordinates. (An accurate coordinate specification is included in the FITS file header for each image). Each image is 10-degrees in diameter. If you use any images for research or other purposes, we request that you use this acknowledgement.

Check the availability of images and download them using: or search for the correct field for a specific position of interest:
Enter an RA and Dec 2000.0 (hh mm ss.s... ±dd mm ss.s...), or a galactic longitude and latitude (xxx.xx... ±yy.yy...):

RA Dec long. lat.



The entered coordinate position is

degrees from the (approximate) center of field
>>>    <<<
(If the separation is less than 5 degrees the position is probably in the named field. If the separation is greater 5 degrees, images of a closer field are not yet available.)

Image Maps

The following clickable image maps can be used to check which images are currently available within 30 degrees of the galactic plane, and download them. The maps show the 10-degree wide circular fields that have been observed. The rectangular grid lines display galactic coordinates; lines of constant right ascension are shown as dashed lines (at 3h separations), and a dotted line shows the lower declination limit of the survey (-15 degrees). When you move your mouse cursor over a field, information about the field will appear in your browser's status line, or in a small text display near the cursor (after a momentary delay), depending upon your browser. Images available are listed by number: 1=H-alpha, 2=[SII], 3=Continuum-Corrected H-alpha, 4=Continuum-Corrected [SII].

Click on a field to download any of its images.

Dra16   18h 25m  83d 00m    l=115 b= 27   Not Yet Available Dra15   18h 42m  77d 00m    l=108 b= 27   Images 1 3 Available Dra14   18h 36m  69d 35m    l=100 b= 26   Images 1 3 Available Dra08   18h 37m  62d 45m    l= 92 b= 25   Not Yet Available Dra07   18h 23m  55d 30m    l= 84 b= 26   Not Yet Available Her19   18h 10m  48d 00m    l= 75 b= 26   Not Yet Available Her16   18h 00m  40d 40m    l= 67 b= 26   Images 1 3 Available Her13   17h 48m  31d 40m    l= 56 b= 26   Images 1 3 Available Her11   17h 37m  23d 23m    l= 46 b= 26   Not Yet Available Her09   17h 25m  16d 30m    l= 39 b= 26   Not Yet Available Oph10   17h 12m  09d 13m    l= 30 b= 26   Not Yet Available Oph09   16h 56m  01d 53m    l= 20 b= 26   Not Yet Available Oph08   16h 33m -07d 16m    l= 11 b= 26   Not Yet Available Lib01   16h 20m -11d 32m    l=  2 b= 26   Not Yet Available Cep09   22h 57m  81d 44m    l=119 b= 19   Not Yet Available Cep08   20h 50m  76d 20m    l=110 b= 19   Images 1 3 Available Dra00   19h 56m  69d 26m    l=102 b= 19   Images 1 3 Available Dra02   19h 26m  62d 08m    l= 93 b= 19   Not Yet Available Dra04   19h 06m  54d 42m    l= 85 b= 19   Not Yet Available Lyr00   18h 49m  47d 14m    l= 76 b= 19   Not Yet Available Lyr04   18h 35m  39d 45m    l= 68 b= 19   Not Yet Available Lyr02   18h 17m  32d 00m    l= 59 b= 20   Images 1 3 Available Her00   18h 09m  24d 56m    l= 51 b= 19   Not Yet Available Her02   17h 56m  17d 37m    l= 43 b= 19   Not Yet Available Oph00   17h 43m  10d 25m    l= 34 b= 19   Not Yet Available Oph02   17h 29m  03d 20m    l= 26 b= 19   Not Yet Available Oph04   17h 13m -03d 33m    l= 17 b= 19   Not Yet Available Oph06   16h 56m -10d 14m    l=  9 b= 19   Not Yet Available Cep06   22h 51m  73d 25m    l=114 b= 12   Images 1 3 Available Cep04   21h 29m  68d 32m    l=106 b= 12   Images 1 3 Available Cep02   20h 38m  62d 16m    l= 97 b= 12   Images 1 3 Available Cyg14   20h 04m  55d 21m    l= 89 b= 12   Not Yet Available Cyg17   19h 39m  48d 08m    l= 80 b= 12   Not Yet Available Lyr03   19h 18m  40d 45m    l= 72 b= 12   Images 1 3 Available Lyr05   19h 01m  33d 18m    l= 64 b= 12   Not Yet Available Lyr01   18h 55m  29d 10m    l= 59 b= 11   Images 1 3 Available Her01   18h 46m  25d 49m    l= 55 b= 12   Not Yet Available Her03   18h 31m  18d 22m    l= 47 b= 12   Not Yet Available Oph01   18h 17m  10d 56m    l= 39 b= 12   Not Yet Available Oph03   18h 02m  03d 35m    l= 30 b= 12   Not Yet Available Oph05   17h 47m -03d 39m    l= 22 b= 12   Not Yet Available Ser03   17h 30m -10d 45m    l= 13 b= 12   Not Yet Available Cyg02   20h 17m  52d 00m    l= 87 b=  9   Not Yet Available Cep07   00h 07m  67d 46m    l=118 b=  5   Image 1 Available Cep05   22h 47m  65d 03m    l=110 b=  5   Not Yet Available Cep03   21h 46m  60d 22m    l=102 b=  5   Not Yet Available Cyg11   21h 02m  54d 29m    l= 93 b=  5   Not Yet Available Cyg13   20h 29m  47d 55m    l= 85 b=  5   Not Yet Available Cyg03   20h 05m  42d 00m    l= 78 b=  5   Images 1 3 Available Cyg15   19h 27m  33d 20m    l= 66 b=  7   Not Yet Available Cyg05   19h 52m  34d 00m    l= 69 b=  3   Not Yet Available Vul01   19h 33m  26d 00m    l= 60 b=  3   Images 1 3 Available Sge03   19h 06m  18d 56m    l= 51 b=  5   Images 1 3 Available Aql15   18h 51m  11d 28m    l= 42 b=  5   Images 1 3 Available Ser02   18h 35m  04d 00m    l= 34 b=  5   Not Yet Available Ser01   18h 20m -03d 25m    l= 26 b=  5   Not Yet Available Ser04   18h 04m -10d 48m    l= 17 b=  5   Images 1 3 Available Cas00   23h 38m  61d 40m    l=114 b=  0   Not Yet Available Cep00   22h 44m  56d 40m    l=106 b= -2   Images 1 3 Available Cyg10   21h 56m  52d 05m    l= 97 b= -2   Images 1 3 Available Cyg08   21h 17m  46d 28m    l= 89 b= -2   Images 1 3 Available Cyg06   20h 38m  41d 24m    l= 80 b=  0   Not Yet Available Cyg04   20h 25m  32d 40m    l= 72 b= -2   Not Yet Available Vul02   20h 00m  26d 25m    l= 64 b= -2   Not Yet Available Sge02   19h 42m  19d 11m    l= 55 b= -2   Images 1 3 Available Aql02   19h 25m  11d 51m    l= 47 b= -2   Not Yet Available Aql04   19h 09m  04d 25m    l= 39 b= -2   Images 1 3 Available Aql06   18h 54m -03d 02m    l= 30 b= -2   Not Yet Available Sct01   18h 38m -10d 30m    l= 22 b= -2   Not Yet Available Cas01   00h 20m  54d 50m    l=118 b= -8   Images 1 3 Available Cep01   23h 36m  53d 00m    l=111 b= -8   Images 1 3 Available Lac01   22h 43m  48d 17m    l=101 b= -9   Images 1 3 Available Cyg09   22h 02m  43d 47m    l= 93 b= -9   Images 1 3 Available Cyg07   21h 30m  38d 30m    l= 85 b= -9   Images 1 3 Available Cyg01   21h 00m  33d 00m    l= 77 b= -8   Not Yet Available Vul03   20h 38m  25d 48m    l= 68 b= -9   Images 1 3 Available Sge01   20h 17m  18d 59m    l= 59 b= -9   Images 1 3 Available Aql01   19h 59m  11d 56m    l= 51 b= -9   Not Yet Available Aql03   19h 43m  04d 42m    l= 42 b= -9   Not Yet Available Aql05   19h 27m -02d 37m    l= 34 b= -9   Not Yet Available Aql07   19h 12m -10d 02m    l= 26 b= -9   Not Yet Available And04   00h 05m  45d 34m    l=114 b=-16   Not Yet Available And02   23h 21m  43d 23m    l=106 b=-16   Not Yet Available Lac00   22h 42m  39d 57m    l= 97 b=-16   Images 1 3 Available Peg19   22h 08m  35d 30m    l= 89 b=-16   Images 1 3 Available Cyg12   21h 39m  30d 17m    l= 80 b=-16   Not Yet Available Vul04   21h 14m  24d 37m    l= 72 b=-16   Images 1 3 Available Del02   20h 52m  18d 11m    l= 64 b=-16   Not Yet Available Del04   20h 33m  11d 35m    l= 55 b=-16   Not Yet Available Aql10   20h 16m  04d 43m    l= 47 b=-16   Images 1 3 Available Aql12   20h 01m -02d 19m    l= 39 b=-16   Images 1 3 Available Aql14   19h 46m -09d 31m    l= 30 b=-16   Image 1 Available And05   23h 55m  38d 35m    l=110 b=-23   Not Yet Available And03   23h 05m  37d 10m    l=100 b=-20   Images 1 3 Available And12   00h 30m  35d 07m    l=118 b=-27   Images 1 3 Available Peg16   23h 29m  34d 36m    l=104 b=-25   Images 1 3 Available Peg18   22h 32m  32d 00m    l= 91 b=-22   Not Yet Available Peg10   22h 00m  26d 30m    l= 81 b=-22   Images 1 3 Available Peg05   21h 31m  21d 30m    l= 73 b=-21   Images 1 3 Available Del03   21h 08m  14d 32m    l= 63 b=-21   Not Yet Available Del01   20h 51m  07d 16m    l= 54 b=-22   Not Yet Available Aql11   20h 35m  00d 00m    l= 45 b=-22   Images 1 3 Available Aql13   20h 18m -07d 16m    l= 36 b=-22   Not Yet Available Sgr05   20h 01m -14d 32m    l= 27 b=-22   Not Yet Available Peg13   23h 00m  30d 24m    l= 96 b=-26   Images 1 3 Available Peg12   22h 30m  26d 12m    l= 87 b=-26   Image 1 Available Peg07   21h 57m  20d 00m    l= 76 b=-26   Not Yet Available Peg00   21h 42m  14d 32m    l= 69 b=-28   Images 1 3 Available Equ01   21h 25m  07d 16m    l= 59 b=-29   Image 1 Available Aqr00   21h 08m  00d 00m    l= 50 b=-30   Not Yet Available Aqr01   20h 51m -07d 16m    l= 40 b=-30   Not Yet Available Cap00   20h 35m -14d 32m    l= 30 b=-29   Not Yet Available And10   02h 21m  43d 23m    l=140 b=-17   Images 1 3 Available And11   01h 47m  39d 25m    l=134 b=-22   Images 1 3 Available And13   01h 23m  33d 16m    l=131 b=-29   Not Yet Available And06   00h 51m  46d 19m    l=123 b=-17   Images 1 3 Available And07   00h 38m  41d 35m    l=120 b=-21   Images 1 3 Available And08   01h 37m  45d 34m    l=131 b=-17   Not Yet Available And09   01h 00m  39d 20m    l=125 b=-24   Images 1 3 Available Ari06   02h 30m  27d 48m    l=148 b=-30   Not Yet Available Ari07   03h 00m  23d 36m    l=157 b=-31   Not Yet Available Ari08   03h 29m  27d 48m    l=161 b=-23   Images 1 3 Available Aur00   04h 55m  40d 10m    l=165 b= -2   Images 1 3 Available Aur01   04h 41m  32d 18m    l=169 b= -9   Images 1 3 Available Aur10   05h 38m  55d 20m    l=157 b= 13   Not Yet Available Aur11   06h 53m  47d 13m    l=169 b= 20   Images 1 3 Available Aur02   05h 20m  33d 26m    l=173 b= -2   Not Yet Available Aur03   06h 01m  33d 43m    l=178 b=  5   Not Yet Available Aur04   06h 41m  33d 17m    l=182 b= 13   Not Yet Available Aur05   05h 39m  40d 56m    l=169 b=  5   Images 1 3 Available Aur06   06h 24m  40d 44m    l=173 b= 13   Not Yet Available Aur07   05h 13m  47d 54m    l=161 b=  5   Images 1 3 Available Aur08   06h 03m  48d 07m    l=165 b= 13   Not Yet Available Aur09   07h 07m  39d 45m    l=178 b= 20   Not Yet Available CMi00   07h 40m  03d 35m    l=215 b= 13   Not Yet Available CMi01   08h 13m  03d 20m    l=220 b= 20   Images 1 3 Available CMi02   07h 25m  10d 56m    l=207 b= 13   Not Yet Available CMi03   07h 59m  10d 24m    l=211 b= 20   Not Yet Available Cam00   03h 46m  52d 05m    l=148 b= -2   Images 1 3 Available Cam01   04h 39m  54d 45m    l=152 b=  5   Images 1 3 Available Cam10   06h 54m  81d 45m    l=132 b= 27   Images 1 3 Available Cam11   06h 58m  74d 00m    l=141 b= 26   Not Yet Available Cam12   07h 10m  66d 15m    l=150 b= 27   Images 1 3 Available Cam14   07h 16m  60d 35m    l=156 b= 26   Images 1 3 Available Cam02   05h 04m  62d 15m    l=148 b= 13   Not Yet Available Cam03   03h 56m  60d 22m    l=144 b=  5   Not Yet Available Cam04   04h 08m  68d 24m    l=139 b= 12   Images 1 3 Available Cam05   06h 12m  62d 07m    l=152 b= 19   Not Yet Available Cam07   05h 46m  69d 25m    l=144 b= 20   Not Yet Available Cam09   04h 45m  76d 14m    l=135 b= 19   Images 1 3 Available Cas02   00h 51m  60d 52m    l=123 b= -2   Images 1 3 Available Cas03   01h 19m  53d 22m    l=127 b= -9   Images 1 3 Available Cas04   01h 58m  59d 46m    l=131 b= -2   Not Yet Available Cas05   01h 32m  67d 31m    l=127 b=  5   Images 1 3 Available Cas06   02h 58m  56d 40m    l=140 b= -2   Images 1 3 Available Cas07   00h 51m  75d 24m    l=123 b= 13   Not Yet Available Cas08   02h 46m  73d 12m    l=131 b= 12   Not Yet Available Cas09   02h 55m  65d 24m    l=135 b=  6   Not Yet Available Cep10   02h 45m  81d 43m    l=127 b= 20   Not Yet Available Cnc01   08h 21m  14d 56m    l=209 b= 26   Images 1 3 Available Cnc02   08h 34m  07d 40m    l=218 b= 26   Images 1 3 Available Eri02   04h 39m -03d 30m    l=200 b=-31   Not Yet Available Eri04   04h 52m -09d 00m    l=207 b=-31   Images 1 3 Available Gem00   07h 11m  18d 21m    l=199 b= 13   Not Yet Available Gem01   06h 36m  18d 55m    l=194 b=  5   Images 1 3 Available Gem02   06h 56m  25d 49m    l=190 b= 13   Not Yet Available Gem03   06h 19m  26d 22m    l=186 b=  5   Not Yet Available Gem04   08h 07m  23d 22m    l=199 b= 26   Image 1 Available Gem05   07h 46m  17d 37m    l=203 b= 20   Not Yet Available Gem06   07h 54m  31d 32m    l=189 b= 26   Images 1 3 Available Gem07   07h 33m  24d 55m    l=194 b= 20   Not Yet Available Gem09   07h 20m  32d 18m    l=186 b= 20   Not Yet Available Hya01   08h 29m -03d 34m    l=228 b= 20   Not Yet Available Hya02   08h 48m -10d 46m    l=237 b= 20   Not Yet Available Hya03   08h 49m  00d 58m    l=226 b= 26   Images 1 3 Available Hya04   09h 04m -05d 02m    l=234 b= 26   Images 1 3 Available Hya05   09h 18m -10d 06m    l=241 b= 26   Not Yet Available Lyn00   07h 22m  55d 00m    l=162 b= 26   Not Yet Available Lyn01   06h 36m  54d 41m    l=161 b= 20   Not Yet Available Lyn02   07h 32m  47d 30m    l=171 b= 26   Not Yet Available Lyn03   07h 44m  39d 44m    l=180 b= 27   Not Yet Available Mon00   06h 33m  04d 25m    l=207 b= -2   Images 1 3 Available Mon01   06h 30m -10d 03m    l=220 b= -9   Images 1 3 Available Mon11   06h 51m  11d 27m    l=203 b=  5   Images 1 3 Available Mon02   06h 49m -03d 03m    l=215 b= -2   Not Yet Available Mon04   07h 04m -10d 32m    l=224 b= -2   Images 1 3 Available Mon05   07h 38m -10d 48m    l=228 b=  5   Images 1 3 Available Mon06   08h 12m -10d 45m    l=232 b= 13   Images 1 3 Available Mon07   07h 22m -03d 26m    l=220 b=  5   Images 1 3 Available Mon08   07h 55m -03d 39m    l=224 b= 13   Not Yet Available Mon09   07h 06m  03d 59m    l=211 b=  5   Images 1 3 Available Ori00   06h 01m  19d 11m    l=190 b= -2   Images 1 3 Available Ori01   05h 43m  11d 55m    l=194 b= -9   Images 1 3 Available Ori10   05h 56m -09d 32m    l=215 b=-17   Images 1 3 Available Ori11   05h 24m -09d 00m    l=211 b=-23   Images 1 3 Available Ori02   06h 18m  11d 50m    l=199 b= -2   Images 1 3 Available Ori03   06h 00m  04d 42m    l=203 b= -9   Images 1 3 Available Ori04   05h 09m  11d 35m    l=190 b=-17   Images 1 3 Available Ori05   06h 15m -02d 38m    l=211 b= -9   Images 1 3 Available Ori06   05h 26m  04d 43m    l=199 b=-17   Images 1 3 Available Ori07   04h 56m  04d 30m    l=195 b=-23   Images 1 3 Available Ori08   05h 42m -02d 20m    l=207 b=-16   Images 1 3 Available Ori09   05h 10m -03d 00m    l=204 b=-24   Images 1 3 Available Per00   04h 25m  46d 28m    l=157 b= -2   Not Yet Available Per01   02h 12m  51d 36m    l=136 b= -9   Not Yet Available Per02   03h 00m  39d 56m    l=148 b=-17   Images 1 3 Available Per03   02h 59m  48d 17m    l=144 b= -9   Images 1 3 Available Per04   03h 34m  35d 30m    l=157 b=-17   Not Yet Available Per05   03h 40m  43d 46m    l=152 b= -9   Images 1 3 Available Per06   03h 00m  32d 00m    l=152 b=-23   Images 1 3 Available Per07   04h 13m  38d 21m    l=161 b= -9   Image 1 Available Tau00   05h 42m  26d 25m    l=182 b= -2   Images 1 3 Available Tau01   05h 04m  25d 48m    l=178 b= -9   Images 1 3 Available Tau10   04h 03m  30d 16m    l=165 b=-17   Not Yet Available Tau12   04h 28m  24d 27m    l=173 b=-17   Images 1 3 Available Tau13   03h 56m  22d 00m    l=170 b=-24   Images 1 3 Available Tau14   03h 29m  19d 24m    l=167 b=-30   Not Yet Available Tau02   04h 50m  18d 11m    l=182 b=-17   Images 1 3 Available Tau03   05h 25m  18d 59m    l=186 b= -9   Images 1 3 Available Tau04   03h 49m  14d 20m    l=175 b=-30   Images 1 3 Available Tau05   04h 20m  16d 30m    l=178 b=-23   Images 1 3 Available Tau06   04h 06m  09d 30m    l=182 b=-30   Not Yet Available Tau07   04h 40m  11d 00m    l=186 b=-23   Images 1 3 Available Tau08   04h 26m  03d 40m    l=191 b=-30   Not Yet Available Tri00   01h 58m  30d 55m    l=139 b=-30   Images 1 3 Available Tri01   02h 24m  36d 00m    l=143 b=-23   Image 1 Available UMi00   14h 36m  90d 00m    l=123 b= 27   Not Yet Available


Mosaics

Mosaics, created from sets of our images, are available for viewing.

Personnel

People who are working (or have worked) on this project are listed below.


This work is supported by National Science Foundation grants AST-9319670, AST-9800476, and AST-0098487, and by the Horton Foundation.
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