EVN Seminar: Galactic Maser Astrometry with Very Long Baseline Interferometry

Series of online seminars “The sharpest view of the radio Universe: VLBI – Connecting Astronomers Worldwide”.

Full information at https://www.evlbi.org/evn-seminars.

In this seminar, our speaker, Mareki Honma (NAOJ) will talk about “Galactic Maser Astrometry with Very Long Baseline Interferometry: Current Status and Beyond”.

Abstract: In this talk, I will present the most recent results of high-resolution maser astrometry with Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI). Maser astrometric surveys have been conducted with the Japanese VERA array and the Bar and Spiral Structure Legacy (BeSSeL) project, aimed at exploring the dynamic structure of the Milky Way. I will present recent results from these surveys, mainly covering topics on the determination of fundamental parameters, rotation curve measurement, tracing spiral structures, comparisons/calibrations of GAIA astrometry, and so on. I will also cover some topics related to individual maser sources (star forming regions and AGB stars) revealed by VLBI astrometry in combination with other arrays such as the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA). Finally, I will briefly discuss the future prospects of VLBI astrometry for forthcoming global VLBI in the SKA era.