A Survey of High‐Latitude Molecular Gas in the Southern Galactic Hemisphere

Abstract

To determine the distribution of molecular gas at high Galactic latitudes, nearly one-half of the southern Galactic hemisphere at b =+30deg. On the assumption that the CO/H2 ratio [N(H2)/W(CO)] is given by 1.0×1020 cm-2 (K km s-1)-1, the mass surface density of molecular gas in the region of the survey is 0.09 Msolar pc-2. The Gaussian scale height of the 133 detections is ~100 pc, consistent with that determined for lower latitude dark clouds.