Measurement of the distance and proper motions of the H2O masers in the young planetary nebula K 3-35

Abstract

In this paper we present the results of very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations carried out with the VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry (VERA) array and the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) toward H2O masers in a young planetary nebula K 3-35. From the VERA observations we measured the annual parallax and proper motion of a bright water maser spot in K 3-35. The resulting distance is D = 3.9+0:7-0:5 kpc. This is the first time that the parallax of a planetary nebula is obtained by observations of its maser emission. On the other hand, the proper motion of K 3-35 as a whole was estimated to be μα = -3.34±0.10 mas yr -1, μ∞ = -5.93±0.07 mas yr-1. From these results we determined the position and velocity of K 3×35 in Galactic cylindrical coordinates: (R, θ,z) = (7.11+0:08-0:06 kpc, 27°±5°, 140+25-18 pc) and (V R, Vθ, Vz ) = (33±16, 233±11, 11±2)km s-1. Additionally, from our VLBA observations we measured the relative proper motions among the water maser spots located in the central region of the nebula, which have been proposed to be tracing a toroidal structure. The distribution and relative proper motions of the masers, compared with previous reported observed epochs, suggest that such structure could be totally destroyed within a few years, due to the action of high-velocity winds and the expansion of the ionization front in the nebula. © 2011. Astronomical Society of Japan.