We have analyzed multi-epoch 22 GHz water maser observations performed with the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) towards the highmass star forming region (SFR) G24.78+0.08. The spatial structure of the water maser integrated intensity has been obtained at three different epochs and found to maintain a very remarkable persistent morphology over the three epochs. Evidence of systematic (expanding) motions for the whole structure traced by the maser emission is also reported. In addition, we have obtained, from previously reported data, the integrated emission of a cluster of water masers spread over 10 mas within the expanding shell of 0.16 size around the young stellar object W75 N (B)-VLA 2. As in G24.78+0.8, we also find that the morphology of the integrated intensity of the water masers of this cluster persists over different observed epochs. These results strongly support the interpretation that the measured proper motions of the water masers are due to real physical motions of distinct blobs of maser-emitting gas, rather than to other effects, such as a travelling background illuminating wave or turbulence in the circumstellar medium. This result is crucial in astrophysical applications of maser proper-motion measurements, including distance determinations and studies of circumstellar gas kinematics in SFRs and late-type stars.

A survey of the Milky Way disk and the Magellanic System at the wavelengths of the 21-cm atomic hydrogen (H i) line and three 18-cm lines of the OH molecule will be carried out with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder * Hubble Fellow. telescope. The survey will study the distribution of H i emission and absorption with unprecedented angular and velocity resolution, as well as molecular line thermal emission, absorption, and maser lines. The area to be covered includes the Galactic plane (|b| < 10°) at all declinations south of δ = +40 • , spanning longitudes 167 • through 360 • to 79 • at b = 0 • , plus the entire area of the Magellanic Stream and Clouds, a total of 13 020 deg 2 . The brightness temperature sensitivity will be very good, typically σ T 1 K at resolution 30 arcsec and 1 km s −1 . The survey has a wide spectrum of scientific goals, from studies of galaxy evolution to star formation, with particular contributions to understanding stellar wind kinematics, the thermal phases of the interstellar medium, the interaction between gas in the disk and halo, and the dynamical and thermal states of gas at various positions along the Magellanic Stream.

Aims. We studied the characteristics of planetary nebulae (PNe) that show both OH maser and radio continuum emission (hereafter OHPNe). These have been proposed to be very young PNe, and therefore, they could be key objects for understanding the formation and evolution of PNe. Methods. We consulted the literature searching for interferometric observations of radio continuum and OH masers toward evolved stars, including the information from several surveys. We also processed radio continuum and OH maser observations toward PNe in the Very Large Array data archive. The high positional accuracy provided by interferometric observations allow us to confirm or reject the association between OH maser and radio continuum emission. Results. We found a total of six PNe that present both OH maser and radio continuum emissions, as confirmed with radio interferometric observations. These are bona fide OHPNe. The confirmed OHPNe present a bipolar morphology in resolved images of their ionized emission at different wavelengths, suggesting that the OH maser emission in PNe is related to nonspherical mass-loss phenomena. The OH maser spectra in PNe present a clear asymmetry, tending to show blueshifted emission with respect to the systemic velocity. Their infrared colors suggest that most of these objects are very young PNe. OHPNe do not form a homogeneous group, and seem to represent a variety of different evolutionary stages. We suggest that OH masers pumped in the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) phase may disappear during the post-AGB phase, but reappear once the source becomes a PN and its radio continuum emission is amplified by the OH molecules. Therefore, OH maser emission could last significantly longer than the previously assumed 1000 yr after the end of the AGB phase. This maser lifetime may be longer in PNe with more massive central stars, which ionize a larger amount of gas in the envelope.

We have studied the kinematics traced by the water masers located at the centre of the planetary nebula (PN) K3–35, using data from previous Very Large Array (VLA) observations. An analysis of the spatial distribution and line‐of‐sight velocities of the maser spots allows us to identify typical patterns of a rotating and expanding ring in the position–velocity diagrams, according to our kinematical model. We find that the distribution of the masers is compatible with tracing a circular ring with a ≃0.021‐arcsec (≃100‐au) radius, observed with an inclination angle of 55° with respect to the line of sight. We derive expansion and rotation velocities of 1.4 and 3.1 km s−1, respectively. The orientation of the ring, projected on the plane of the sky, at position angle (PA) ≃ 158°, is almost orthogonal to the direction of the innermost region of the jet observed in K3–35, suggesting the presence of a disc or torus that may be related to the collimation of the outflow.

We present the most sensitive and detailed view of the neutral hydrogen ( ${\rm H\small I}$ ) emission associated with the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), through the combination of data from the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) and Parkes (Murriyang), as part of the Galactic Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (GASKAP) pilot survey. These GASKAP-HI pilot observations, for the first time, reveal ${\rm H\small I}$ in the SMC on similar physical scales as other important tracers of the interstellar medium, such as molecular gas and dust. The resultant image cube possesses an rms noise level of 1.1 K ( $1.6\,\mathrm{mJy\ beam}^{-1}$ ) $\mathrm{per}\ 0.98\,\mathrm{km\ s}^{-1}$ spectral channel with an angular resolution of $30^{\prime\prime}$ ( ${\sim}10\,\mathrm{pc}$ ). We discuss the calibration scheme and the custom imaging pipeline that utilises a joint deconvolution approach, efficiently distributed across a computing cluster, to accurately recover the emission extending across the entire ${\sim}25\,\mathrm{deg}^2$ field-of-view. We provide an overview of the data products and characterise several aspects including the noise properties as a function of angular resolution and the represented spatial scales by deriving the global transfer function over the full spectral range. A preliminary spatial power spectrum analysis on individual spectral channels reveals that the power law nature of the density distribution extends down to scales of 10 pc. We highlight the scientific potential of these data by comparing the properties of an outflowing high-velocity cloud with previous ASKAP+Parkes ${\rm H\small I}$ test observations.

We present continuum and molecular-line (CO, C18O, HCO+) observations carried out with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array toward the ‘water fountain’ star IRAS 15103–5754, an object that could be the youngest planetary nebula (PN) known. We detect two continuum sources, separated by 0.39 ± 0.03 arcsec. The emission from the brighter source seems to arise mainly from ionized gas, thus confirming the PN nature of the object. The molecular-line emission is dominated by a circumstellar torus with a diameter of ≃0.6 arcsec (2000 au) and expanding at ≃23 km s−1. We see at least two gas outflows. The highest-velocity outflow (deprojected velocities up to 250 km s−1), traced by the CO lines, shows a biconical morphology, whose axis is misaligned ≃14° with respect to the symmetry axis of the torus, and with a different central velocity (by ≃8 km s−1). An additional high-density outflow (traced by HCO+) is oriented nearly perpendicular to the torus. We speculate that IRAS 15103–5754 was a triple stellar system that went through a common envelope phase, and one of the components was ejected in this process. A subsequent low-collimation wind from the remaining binary stripped out gas from the torus, creating the conical outflow. The high velocity of the outflow suggests that the momentum transfer from the wind is extremely efficient, or that we are witnessing a very energetic mass-loss event.

We present simultaneous observations of H 2 O maser emission and radio continuum at 1.3 cm carried out with the Australia Telescope Compact Array towards two sources, IRAS 16333−4807 and IRAS 12405−6219, catalogued as planetary nebula (PN) candidates, and where single-dish detections of H 2 O masers have been previously reported. Our goal was to unambiguously confirm the spatial association of the H 2 O masers with these two PN candidates. We detected and mapped H 2 O maser emission in both fields, but only in IRAS 16333−4807 the maser emission is spatially associated with the radio continuum emission. The properties of IRAS 16333−4807 provide strong support for the PN nature of the object, hereby confirming it as the fifth known case of a H 2 O maser-emitting PN. This source is bipolar, like the other four known H 2 O maser-emitting PNe, indicating that these sources might pertain to a usual, but short phase in the evolution of bipolar PNe. In IRAS 12405−6219, the H 2 O maser and radio continuum emission are not associated with each other and, in addition, the available data indicate that this source is an H ii region rather than a PN.

Aims. Cool, evolved stars have copious, enriched winds. Observations have so far not fully constrained models for the shaping and acceleration of these winds. We need to understand the dynamics better, from the pulsating stellar surface to ∼10 stellar radii, where radiation pressure on dust is fully effective. Asymmetric nebulae around some red supergiants imply the action of additional forces. Methods. We retrieved ALMA Science Verification data providing images of sub-mm line and continuum emission from VY CMa. This enables us to locate water masers with milli-arcsec accuracy and to resolve the dusty continuum. Results. The 658, 321, and 325 GHz masers lie in irregular, thick shells at increasing distances from the centre of expansion. For the first time this is confirmed as the stellar position, coinciding with a compact peak offset to the NW of the brightest continuum emission. The maser shells overlap but avoid each other on scales of up to 10 au. Their distribution is broadly consistent with excitation models but the conditions and kinematics are complicated by wind collisions, clumping, and asymmetries.