Photometry of the UWISH2 extended H2 source catalogue

The UKIRT Widefield Infrared Survey for H2 (UWISH2) is a large, unbiased survey of extended H2 emission sources, using the 1-0 S(1) emission line at 2.122?m. It covers 209 square degrees of the Galactic Plane (GP) between l ? 357° to l ? 66° and b ? ±1.5°. UWISH2 further covers high column density regions in Cygnus and Auriga, covering approximately 42 and 35.5 square degrees respectively and leading to a total survey coverage of ? 286.5 square degrees. As part of the UWISH2 team, I have performed the photometry for 33200 individual H2 features, which have been found to compose ~ 700 H2 jets and outflows, 284 planetary nebulae (PNe), 30 supernova remnants (SNRs) and ~ 1300 photo-dissociation regions (PDRs). About 60% of PNe are newly discovered candidates. Using H2 emission as a tracer for star formation, I find that the majority of H2 flux is located in the lower Galactic longitudes for jet and PDR features, indicating increased star formation activity. I have also observed partial concentrations of high H2 flux at higher Galactic longitudes in the GP from jet features but not PDR features, indicating a lack of high-mass star formation at this region. I offer two methods of photometry: the 'total flux' photometry and the 'median surface brightness times area' photometry. Upon comparing the ratios of the fluxes from both photometries for each feature, I find good agreement (full catalogue: ~ 97% in a 100% deviation and ~ 82% in a 20% deviation) for all feature classes except jets, and recommend the median surface brightness times area photometry for all feature types except jets, which should use total flux photometry. Finally, I have calculated the signal-to-noise ratios for individual features, finding the median value for the entire survey to be approximately 15 when using the feature area.