Bright Quasars from the FIRST Survey

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Session 8 -- Surveys and Cosmology
Display presentation, Monday, June 12, 1995, 9:20am - 6:30pm

[8.01] Bright Quasars from the FIRST Survey

M.D. Gregg (IGPP/LLNL), R.H. Becker (U.C. Davis), D.J. Helfand (Columbia), R.L. White (STScI), R.A. McMahon (Cambridge)

The VLA FIRST survey has mapped $\sim 300$ square degrees in its first year, producing a catalog of 27,000 radio sources. Cross correlation with the optical catalog from the APM digitized sky survey results in 91 close matches with objects brighter than 17.5 and classified as stars in both Sky Survey emulsions. We have gathered optical spectra for much of this sample; combined with previously known objects from NED, about 60\% are quasars. Redshifts range from 0.2 to 3.4.

Nearly 20\% of the objects are stars, nearly double the expected chance false match rate, raising the possibility that the FIRST survey will also detect a significant number of new radio stars.

Monday program listing