The IC133 Water Vapor Maser in the Galaxy M33: A Geometric Distance

Abstract

We report on the results of a 14 year long VLBI study of proper motions in the IC133 H2O maser source in the galaxy M33. The method of Ordered Motion Parallax was used to model the 3-dimensional structure and dynamics of IC133 and obtain a distance estimate, 800 +/- 180 kpc. Our technique for determining the distance to M33 is independent of calibrations common to other distance indicators, such as Cepheid Period-Luminosity relations, and therefore provides an important check for previous distance determinations.

arXiv commentAccepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal

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Cited by in corpus (9)

• The CosmoVerse White Paper: Addressing observational tensions in cosmology with systematics and fundamental physics
• Quantifying the Coexistence of Massive Black Holes and Dense Nuclear Star Clusters
• The Geometric Distance and Proper Motion of the Triangulum Galaxy (M33)
• The Proper Motion of the Local Group Galaxy IC 10
• Clustering of Local Group distances: publication bias or correlated measurements? II. M31 and beyond
• A Search for H2O Megamasers in High-z Type-2 AGNs
• Water masers in the Local Group of galaxies
• Accurate Extra-Galactic Distances and Dark Energy: Anchoring the Distance Scale with Rotational Parallaxes
• Direct Extragalactic Distance Determination Using X-Ray Scattering