  We report on new aspects of the star-forming region S235AB revealed through
high-resolution observations at radio and mid-infrared wavelengths. Using the
Very Large Array, we carried out sensitive observations of S235AB in the cm
continuum (6, 3.6, 1.3, and 0.7) and in the 22 GHz water maser line. These were
complemented with Spitzer Space Telescope Infrared Array Camera archive data to
clarify the correspondence between radio and IR sources. We made also use of
newly presented data from the Medicina water maser patrol, started in 1987, to
study the variability of the water masers found in the region. S235A is a
classical HII region whose structure is now well resolved. To the south, no
radio continuum emission is detected either from the compact molecular core or
from the jet-like structure observed at 3.3 mm, suggesting emission from dust
in both cases. We find two new compact radio continuum sources (VLA-1 and
VLA-2) and three separate maser spots. VLA-1 coincides with one of the maser
spots and with a previously identified IR source (M1). VLA-2 lies towards S235B
and represents the first radio detection from this peculiar nebula that may
represent an ionized wind from a more evolved star. The two other maser spots
coincide with an elongated structure previously observed within the molecular
core in the C34S line. This structure is perpendicular to a bipolar molecular
outflow observed in HCO+(1-0) and may trace the associated equatorial disk. The
Spitzer images reveal a red object towards the molecular core. This is the most
viable candidate for the embedded source originating the outflow and maser
phenomenology. The picture emerging from these and previous data shows the
extreme complexity of a small (< 0.5 pc) star-forming region where widely
different stages of stellar evolution are present.
