The Arecibo Methanol Maser Galactic Plane Survey--I: Data

Abstract

We present the results of an unbiased survey for 6.7 GHz methanol masers in the Galactic plane carried out using the 305 m Arecibo radio telescope. A total of 18.2 square degrees was surveyed with uniform sampling at 35.2 deg < l < 53.7 deg, |b| < 0.41 deg. The large collecting area of Arecibo and the sensitive C-Band High receiver allowed the survey to be complete at the level of 0.27 Jy making this the most sensitive blind survey carried out to date. We detected a total of 86 sources, 48 of which are new detections. Most of the new detections have a peak flux density below 2 Jy. Many methanol masers are clustered, reflecting the formation of massive stars in clusters.