A Soft X-Ray Survey from the Galactic Center to VELA

A 640 Cm2 proportional-counter system, sensitive from 0.2 to 12 keV, was used to survey the galactic plane from Sagittarius to Vela. Spatial resolution was 1 , at best. The soft X-ray sky is dominated by a region of strong emissi9n in the vicinity of Vela X and has an appearance quite different from the sky viewed at photon energies of a few kilovolts. Many sources were located in one dimension in the direction of the galactic center. Some of these positions agree well with those of previous experiments. Locations were derived for two strong sources; GX 292+0 or Cen 3, and GX 322+0 or Cir 1. Positions are restricted to a region with area less than 0 2 square degrees. Another weaker source, GX 296-2 or Cen 5, was located in a region of area 0.6 square degrees. A definite source of soft X-rays, which seems to coincide with the objectn Car, was seen. The source Nor 1 was found to emit a greater flux of soft X-rays than other surrounding objects relative to its overall strength. Spectra are derived for all sources, and numbers are given for interstellar material in the line of sight.