Ariel V RMC (rotation modulation collimator) observations of the galactic plane.

Ariel V rotation modulation collimator (RMC) observations of the galactic plane are discussed. The important feature of the RMC is that the positional resolution is two-dimensional, in comparison with the essentially one-dimensional resolution obtained by a scanning slat collimator. It is therefore possible for the RMC to resolve individual point sources even within a few degrees of each other. Analysis of single orbit data is presented along with combination of single orbit data. It is noted that while most of the sources can be detected in a single orbit of data integration, combinations of many orbits can give an increase of at least an order of magnitude in sensitivity, making observations of weaker sources also possible.