The OH maser emission associated with Orion-KL in the velocity range -5 through 25 km/s LSR has been mapped to a level of 0.5 Jy in the 1665 MHz and 1612 MHz OH transitions. The majority of the masers have been found to have an east-west distribution of length of 14 arcsec encompassing the sources IRc2, IRc7, and IRc6. These masers are located along a ridge defined by the NH3 emission associated with dense, hot regions. Other areas of OH emission with velocities near 18 km/s are found 5-10 arcsec from this emission. The OH masers appear to be in 'clumps' with dispersions of 2-6 km/s and are probably formed in turbulent regions near the edges of shock fronts. The distribution of the maser emission is quite complex and is consistent with models describing a 'cavity' or an outflow caused by one or more exciting sources.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Johnston et al. (1989) studied this question.