SPEAR far UV spectral imaging of highly ionized emission from the North Galactic Pole Region

TL;DR

This paper presents the first large-area, moderate-resolution UV spectral maps of highly ionized and warm ionized interstellar medium emissions near the North Galactic Pole, revealing their distribution.

Contribution

It provides the first extensive UV spectral imaging of high-latitude interstellar ionized gas, covering multiple emission lines over a large region.

Findings

Mapped distribution of OVI, CIV, SiIV, SiII*, and AlII emission lines.

First large-area UV spectral maps of high-latitude ionized interstellar medium.

Revealed spatial distribution patterns of the highly ionized and warm ionized medium.

Abstract

We present far ultraviolet (FUV: 912 - 1750AA) spectral imaging observations recorded with the SPEAR satellite of the interstellar OVI (1032AA), CIV (1550AA), SiIV (1394AA), SiII* (1533AA) and AlII (1671AA) emission lines originating in a 60 x 30 degree rectangular region lying close to the North Galactic Pole. These data represent the first large area, moderate spatial resolution maps of the distribution of UV spectral-line emission originating the both the highly ionized medium (HIM) and the warm ionized medium (WIM) recorded at high galactic latitudes.