The Arecibo HII Region Discovery Survey
  We report the detection of radio recombination line emission (RRL) using the
Arecibo Observatory at X-band (9GHz, 3cm) from 37 previously unknown HII
regions in the Galactic zone 66 deg. > l > 31 deg. and |b| < 1 deg. This
Arecibo HII Region Discovery Survey (Arecibo HRDS) is a continuation of the
Green Bank Telescope (GBT) HRDS. The targets for the Arecibo HRDS have
spatially coincident 24 micron and 20 cm emission of a similar angular
morphology and extent. To take advantage of Arecibo's sensitivity and small
beam size, sources in this sample are fainter, smaller in angle, or in more
crowded fields compared to those of the GBT HRDS. These Arecibo nebulae are
some of the faintest HII regions ever detected in RRL emission. Our detection
rate is 58%, which is low compared to the 95% detection rate for GBT HRDS
targets. We derive kinematic distances to 23 of the Arecibo HRDS detections.
Four nebulae have negative LSR velocities and are thus unambiguously in the
outer Galaxy. The remaining sources are at the tangent point distance or
farther. We identify a large, diffuse HII region complex that has an associated
HI and 13CO shell. The ~90 pc diameter of the G52L nebula in this complex may
be the largest Galactic HII region known, and yet it has escaped previous
detection.
