SUMSS: A wide-field radio imaging survey of the southern sky. I. Science goals, survey design, and instrumentation

The Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope, operating at 843 MHz with a 5 deg(2) field of view, is carrying out a radio imaging survey of the sky so uth of declination -30 degrees. This survey (the Sydney University Molonglo Sky Survey, or SUMSS) produces images with a resolution of 43" x 43" csc / delta/ and an rms noise level of similar to 1 mJy beam(-1). The SUMSS is th erefore similar in sensitivity and resolution to the northern NRAO VLA Sky Survey. The survey is progressing at a rate of about 1000 deg(2) per year, yielding individual and statistical data for many thousands of weak radio s ources. This paper describes the main characteristics of the survey and pre sents sample images from the first year of observations.