A UKST survey of blue objects towards the galactic centre - a search for early-type stars

We have begun a search for early-type stars towards the galactic centre whi ch are potentially young objects situated within the inner few kiloparsecs of the disk. U and V (or I) band photographic photometry from the UK Schmid t Telescope has been obtained to identify the bluest candidates in nineteen Schmidt fields (centred close to the galactic centre). We have spectroscop ically observed these targets for three fields with the FLAIR multi-fibre s ystem to determine their spectral types. In particular; ten early B-type st ars have been identified and equivalent width measurements of their Balmer and HeI lines have been used to estimate atmospheric parameters. These earl y-type objects have magnitudes in the range 11.5 less than or equal to V le ss than or equal to 16.0, and our best estimates of their distance (given p robable highly variable reddening in this direction together with errors in the plate photometry) suggest that some of them originated close to (i.e R -g < 3 kpc), or even beyond the galactic centre. Future high-resolution spe ctroscopy of these stars will provide reliable atmospheric parameters and e lement abundances; in order to map the current chemical composition of the inner galaxy.