Analysis of IUE observations of the galactic corona and the existence of molecular clouds in the halo

Abstract

IUE observations of ions in the galactic corona are reanalyzed and Savage and de Boer's (1979) conclusion that the detected hot phase has a temperature proportional to 80,000 K is confirmed. The cold phase must be at a temperature of less than 24,000 K and probably contains substantial amounts of molecular material. Molecules, such as CH(+), OH and SH, may exist in detectable abundances in the transition regions between the hotter gas and the cold gas on the far sides of halo molecular clouds.