Water masers

http://astrothesaurus.org/uat/1790

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H2O masers
dcterms modified equal to or less than 2020-11-04T21:20:02.516Zequal to or more than 2020-11-04T21:20:02.516Z
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http://astrothesaurus.org/uat/103 original
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1790 original
definition An interstellar maser phenomenon in which water (H_{2}O) molecules undergo the processes of population inversion and stimulated emission. H_{2}O masers are detected toward star formation regions and the envelopes of evolved stars. The maser emission comes from regions that are typically quite small, not larger than the solar system. The main emission frequency is 22 GHz, which shows up in strong lines. There are, however, other H_{2}O maser transitions at 380 GHz and 183 GHz, which are much weaker than the 22 GHz line. The former transitions are sporadically detected since they are strongly absorbed in the Earth's atmosphere, because of its high water vapor content.
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contributor AAS_Frey.Katie_Admin original