The obscuration due to dust and the high stellar density in our Galaxy blocks our optical view of the extragalactic Universe over some twenty percent of the sky, a region known as the Zone of Avoidance (ZOA). This is a problem, because studies of local flow fields and of the dynamical evolution of the Local Group require all-sky mapping of mass inhomogeneities. Although the ZOA has been narrowed by deep optical and infrared searches, both fail in regions of high extinction and stellar confusion. Fortunately, radio observations at a wavelength of 21 centimeters can find galaxies containing neutral hydrogen, even in regions of the thickest obscuration and the worst infrared crowding. This successful method will be used with the Arecibo telescope to discover new galaxies, probe large-scale structures, and almost certainly discover new features hidden by our own Milky Way. This pilot project will start with two small portions of the ZOA as test-beds for the full survey.
As well as student training, this work will broaden the Arecibo user community and feed into education efforts from this Hispanic-Serving Institution, targeting a large under-served population in New Mexico and the southwest.
