Session 20 - Molecular Clouds, Dense Cores, and Protostars.
Display session, Monday, January 15
North Banquet Hall, Convention Center

## [20.05] High Resolution Imaging along the OMC Ridge with the BIMA Array

L. W. Looney, L. G. Mundy (U. Maryland), R. L. Plambeck, M. C. H. Wright (Radio Astronomy Lab., UC, Berkeley)

Observations of the continuum emission at 86.2 GHz along the Orion Molecular Ridge centered on IRC2 were obtained in three fields. The observations were taken using the extended baseline configuration of the 6-element BIMA array. This high resolution configuration provides a synthesized beam of 1.91^\prime\prime\times0.79^\prime\prime enabling the separation of extended emission from point sources in the field of view. As the observations of only the IRC2 region show, the extended baselines are essential when searching at small spatial scales for sources in the extended continuum emission. At this resolution, most of the continuum flux is resolved out, indicating that only a small fraction of the mass is contained in structures less than 500 AU in diameter.

We will also present the status of the new BIMA baseline extension. The new baselines will extend to 1 km in the North-South and the East-West directions.