A Precise Distance to IRAS 00420+5530 via H2O Maser Parallax with the
  VLBA
  We have used the VLBA to measure the annual parallax of the H2O masers in the
star-forming region IRAS 00420+5530. This measurement yields a direct distance
estimate of 2.17 +/- 0.05 kpc (<3%), which disagrees substantially with the
standard kinematic distance estimate of ~4.6 kpc (according to the rotation
curve of Brand and Blitz 1993), as well as most of the broad range of distances
(1.7-7.7 kpc) used in various astrophysical analyses in the literature. The
3-dimensional space velocity of IRAS 00420+5530 at this new, more accurate
distance implies a substantial non-circular and anomalously slow Galactic
orbit, consistent with similar observations of W3(OH) (Xu et al., 2006;
Hachisuka et al. 2006), as well as line-of-sight velocity residuals in the
rotation curve analysis of Brand and Blitz (1993). The Perseus spiral arm of
the Galaxy is thus more than a factor of two closer than previously presumed,
and exhibits motions substantially at odds with axisymmetric models of the
rotating Galaxy.
