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Session 70 - The Milky Way.
Display session, Wednesday, January 15
Metropolitan Ballroom,
We present the first results of our observations of the Galactic ridge from 2-20 keV with RXTE. The observations, performed in September 1996, consist of several scans which cover the Galactic ridge (from 56^o to -44^o in l and -1.5^o to 1.5^o in b) and the bulge. Maps of the Galactic plane in several energy bands were then constructed from the scans. Several previously unknown hard X-ray sources have been discovered. A bright, unresolved extended emission is clearly visible in these maps confirming reports from previous missions. We address the spatial variation of the extended emission and its scale height in various energy bands and measure the spectrum. Furthermore, we will discuss the origin of the extended emission and its relationship to diffuse emission in higher energy bands (>100 keV).
