Abstract We carried out near-infrared imaging observations of the Ori A-W region using the Italian 1.5 m TIRGO infrared telescope at Gornergrat. A group of infrared objects is visible on the K band image, including an IRAS source (IRS 1). From its IRAS flux density the IRAS luminosity is derived to be 45 L⊙, which shows that IRS 1 is a low-mass protostar. By superimposing the position of the VLA H2O maser on the K image, we can identify the less evolved object IRS 1 as the excitation source of the H2O maser, within a projected distance of 470 AU. This would be evidence that the maser effect is associated with the youngest phase of stellar evolution. The first probable HH object candidate in the Ori A-W region is discovered from the H2O S(1) 1 0 observation. Comparing the position of the H2O maser with the direction of the molecular hydrogen emission in the region, we suggest that the observed H2O maser could be tracing the circumstellar disk of IRS 1.
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