H2O MegaMasers: a RadioAstron success story
Willem Baan, Alexey Alakoz, Tao An, Simon Ellingsen, Christian Henkel,, Hiroshi Imai, Vladimir Kostenko, Ivan Litovchenko, James Moran, Andrej, Sobolev, and Alexander Tolmachev
TL;DR
The RadioAstron space-VLBI mission successfully detected extragalactic H2O MegaMaser emissions at unprecedented long baselines, revealing unique environmental conditions in galaxies NGC3079 and NGC4258, and promising further insights with extended observations.
Contribution
This study demonstrates the first successful detection of extragalactic H2O MegaMaser emissions at very long Earth-space baselines, advancing understanding of masering environments.
Findings
Detection of H2O MegaMaser emissions at baselines up to 26.7 Earth Diameters
Distinct masering environments in NGC3079 and NGC4258
Potential for detailed physics insights with longer baseline observations
Abstract
The RadioAstron space-VLBI mission has successfully detected extragalactic H2O MegaMaser emission regions at very long Earth to space baselines ranging between 1.4 and 26.7 Earth Diameters (ED). The preliminary results for two galaxies, NGC3079 and NGC4258, at baselines longer than one ED indicate masering environments and excitation conditions in these galaxies that are distinctly different. Further observations of NGC4258 at longer baselines will reveal more of the physics of individual emission regions.
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Taxonomy
TopicsAstrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena · Radio Astronomy Observations and Technology · Superconducting and THz Device Technology