Dr. Christian Henkel (Max Plank Institute for Radio Astronomy)

MEGAMASERS - Dr. Christian Henkel Colloquium

ATNF Marsfield Lecture Theatre

Abstract

The 25 years following the serendipitous discovery of megamasers have seen
tremendous progress
in the study of luminous extragalactic maser emission. Single-dish monitoring
and high resolution
interferometry have been used to identify sites of massive star formation, to
determine three
dimensional motions in space, to directly measure distances to galaxies, to
study the interaction
of nuclear jets with dense molecular gas and to investigate the circumnuclear
environment of active
galactic nuclei. Accretion disks with sub-pc scales have been mapped and masses
of nuclear engines have
been determined. Here an outline is given summarizing recent achievements and
evaluating prospects
for the near and more distant future.