The Maser Monitoring Organisation is a collection of researchers exploring the use of time-variable maser emission in the investigation of astrophysical phenomena. The forward directed aspects of research primarily involve using maser emission as a tool to investigate star formation. Simultaneously, these activities have deepened knowledge of maser emission itself in addition to uncovering previously unknown maser transitions. Thus a feedback loop is created where both the knowledge of astrophysical phenomena and the utilised tools of investigation themselves are iteratively sharpened. The project goals are open-ended and constantly evolving, however, the reliance on radio observatory maser monitoring campaigns persists as the fundamental enabler of research activities within the group.

Recently, remarkable progress has been made in understanding the formation of high mass stars. Observations provided direct evidence that massive young stellar objects (MYSOs), analogously to low-mass ones, form via disk-mediated accretion accompanied by episodic accretion bursts, possibly caused by disk fragmentation. In the case of MYSOs, the mechanism theoretically provides a means to overcome radiation pressure, but in practice it is poorly studied - only three accretion bursts in MYSOs have been caught in action to date. A significant contribution to the development of the theory has been made with the study of masers, which have proven to be a powerful tool for locating “bursting” MYSOs. This overview focuses on the exceptional role that masers play in the search and study of accretion bursts in massive protostars.

Coordinated multi-wavelength surveys of molecular clouds are providing strong constraints on the physical conditions within low-mass star-forming regions. In this manner, Perseus and Ophiuchus have been exceptional laboratories for testing the earliest phases of star formation. Highlights of these results are: (1) dense cores form only in high column density regions, (2) dense cores contain only a few percent of the cloud mass, (3) the mass distribution of the dense cores is similar to the IMF, (4) the more massive cores are most likely to contain embedded protostars, and (5) the kinematics of the dense cores and the bulk gas show significant coupling.

The most likely processes responsible for the removal of circumstellar disks around young stars are reviewed with emphasis on the physical state of the disk during the period of destruction and the timescale for disk removal. Four disk dispersal mechanisms are discussed in detail: 1) viscous accretion of material onto the central source, 2) close stellar encounters, 3) stellar winds, and 4) photoevaporation by ultraviolet radiation. While viscous accretion is shown to be efficient in the inner regions of disks (r < 10 AU), photoevaporation is the principal process of disk dispersal at large radii (r > 10 AU). The commonly held view that stellar winds removed the remnant Solar Nebula is seriously questioned.