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K.R. Healy (Arizona State University), M.J. Claussen (National Radio Astronomy Observatory), J.J. Hester (Arizona State University)
We present preliminary results of a two-epoch VLA survey for water maser activity associated with young stars in several H~II regions: NGC~2264, S140, M16, and M20. In all, we detected 4 masers previously reported in the literature and 4 previously unknown. Of those previously unreported, 3 show clear association with active star formation.
In M20, we found a ~1 Jy maser coincident with a 2MASS K-band point source. This object is not visible at shorter wavelengths. This maser appears to be previously undetected. We tentatively identify this object as a heavily obscured YSO.
In M16, we detected 3 new masers in and around the columns in the Eagle Nebula. One of the masers is not associated with any obvious optical, near-infrared, or radio emission. As yet, we do not have an identification for this source. The other two masers are associated with cloud cores seen in sub-mm SCUBA images of White et~al.\ (1999). We discuss the significance of these protostars in the star formation environment of M16.
K.R.H. acknowledges support from the Arizona State University NASA Space Grant Program. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: kevin.healy@asu.edu