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Present state and promises to unravel the structure and kinematics of the Milky Way with the RAVE survey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2008

M. Steinmetz
Affiliation:
Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
A. Siebert
Affiliation:
Observatoire de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
T. Zwitter
Affiliation:
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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Abstract

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The RAdial Velocity Experiment (RAVE) is an ambitious survey to measure the radial velocities, temperatures, surface gravities, metallicities and abundance ratios for up to a million stars using the 1.2-m UK Schmidt Telescope of the Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO), over the period 2003–2011. The survey represents a big advance in our understanding of our own Milky Way galaxy. The main data product will be a southern hemisphere survey of about a million stars. Their selection is based exclusively on their I–band colour, so avoiding any colour-induced bias. RAVE is expected to be the largest spectroscopic survey of the Solar neighbourhood in the coming decade, but with a significant fraction of giant stars reaching out to 10 kpc from the Sun. RAVE offers the first truly representative inventory of stellar radial velocities for all major components of the Galaxy. Here we present the first scientific results of this survey as well as its second data release which doubles the number of previously released radial velocities. For the first time, the release also provides atmospheric parameters for a large fraction of the second year data, making it an unprecedented tool to study the formation of the Milky Way. Plans for further data releases are outlined.

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2009

References

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