The VST VPHAS+ Survey is an optical survey of the Galactic plane and bulge, which will complement the VISTA Variables in Via Lactea (VVV) survey and is a southern hemisphere analogue of IPHAS in the north. It includes data in the broad-band filters ugri and the narrow-band H-alpha filter.

The main survey strip is 10 degrees wide and is defined in Galactic coordinates as all latitudes within 5 degrees of the Galactic Equator (GE). There are two Bulge extensions that expand this latitude range to 10 degrees away from the GE. It takes a tiling of 2269 OmegaCam fields to cover the ˜2000 sq.deg footprint

For VST operational reasons the consortium was asked by ESO to split the data-taking, executing the blue/red filters in darker/brighter time. To meet this request, VPHAS+ submit separated u/g/r and Ha/r/i observing blocks to the queue, including r band exposures in both sets so that the two filter sets may be tied together post-observing (as desired).

For more information see the VPHAS+ home page.