First images of R Aquarii and its asymmetric H2O shell

We report imaging observations of the symbiotic long-period Mira variable R Aquarii ( R Aqr) at near-infrared and radio wavelengths. The near-infrared observations were made with the IOTA imaging interferometer in three narrow-band filters centered at 1.51, 1.64, and 1.78 mu m, which sample mainly water, continuum, and water features, respectively. Our near-infrared fringe visibility and closure phase data are analyzed using three models. (1) A uniform disk model with wave length-dependent sizes fails to fit the visibility data, and is inconsistent with the closure phase data. (2) A three-component model, consisting of a Mira star, water shell, and an off-axis point source, provide a good fit to all data. (3) A model generated by a constrained image reconstruction analysis provides more insight, suggesting that the water shell is highly nonuniform, i.e., clumpy. The VLBA observations of SiO masers in the outer molecular envelope show evidence of turbulence, with jetlike features containing velocity gradients.