Maser kinematics and infrared properties of the water fountain IRAS 18286-0959

A ``water fountain'' is a transitional object between an AGB star and a PN. The VLBA observations of 22.2 GHz water maser emission reveal a ``double-helix'' outflow pattern from one of the water fountains, IRAS 18286-0959. The pattern is reasonably fit by a model consisting of two precessing jets. We propose that the two jets observed are a result of a single driving source with a significant proper motion. Using data from the AKARI catalogs, we also found that water fountains might have their own IR colors which are affected by the 9.7 μm silicate feature and the optical thickness of stellar envelopes. The colors could serve as new criteria for searching this type of rare objects.