AFGL 2591

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AFGL 2591

AFGL 2591
Observation data Epoch J2000      Equinox J2000
Constellation	Cygnus
Right ascension	20h 29m 24.9s
Declination	+40° 11' 21"'
Apparent magnitude (V)	44
Characteristics
U-B color index	?
B-V color index	?
Variable type	None
Astrometry
Distance	3261.6 Ly
Details
Mass	? M☉
Radius	5 R☉
Surface gravity (log g)	?
Luminosity	20.000 L☉
Temperature	? K
Metallicity	?
Rotation	?
Age	1 million years
Other designations
IRAS 20275+4001, RAFGL 19.
Database references
SIMBAD	data

AFGL 2591 is a young, massive star in the constellation Cygnus. It is more than 3,000 light-years from the Earth and is at least 10 times the size of the Sun and over 20,000 times as bright.^[1]It is estimated to be about one million years old, about one-fifth of the Sun's age.^[2]

[edit] Nebula

AFGL 2591 is expelling a nebula of gas and dust, a common feature in the formation of stars of similar size to the Sun, but less common in larger stars. Over the past 10,000 years, this process has created a nebula that is over 500 times the diameter of the Solar System.

Infrared images from instruments mounted on the telescope, Gemini North, reveals four expanding rings of gas and dust, indicating that the expulsion occurred in episodes.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Gemini Spies Strong Stellar Gusts in Nearby Massive Star. 2004. Gemini Observatory. Retrieved June 18, 2008, from http://www.gemini.edu/node/48.
2. ^ Astronomy Picture of the Day. (n.d.) NASA. Retrieved June 18, 2008, from http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap010829.html.

[edit] References

• http://e-collection.ethbib.ethz.ch/ecol-pool/dipl/dipl_302.pdf
• http://jumk.de/astronomie/big-stars/afgl-2591.shtml
• http://cxc.harvard.edu/target_lists/cycle7/abstracts_cycle7.html
• http://www.gemini.edu/node/48
• http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap010829.html