The SARAO MeerKAT 1.3 GHz Galactic Plane Survey

ABSTRACT We present the SARAO MeerKAT Galactic Plane Survey (SMGPS), a 1.3 GHz continuum survey of almost half of the Galactic Plane (251° ≤l ≤ 358° and 2° ≤l ≤ 61° at |b| ≤ $1{_{.}^{\circ}}5$). SMGPS is the largest, most sensitive, and highest angular resolution 1 GHz survey of the plane yet carried out, with an angular resolution of 8 arcsec and a broad-band root-mean-square sensitivity of ∼10–20 μJy beam−1. Here, we describe the first publicly available data release from SMGPS which comprises data cubes of frequency-resolved images over 908–1656 MHz, power-law fits to the images, and broad-band zeroth moment integrated intensity images. A thorough assessment of the data quality and guidance for future usage of the data products are…