AFGL 2591

AFGL 2591 is a star forming region in the constellation Cygnus. Its dense cloud of gas and dust make its interior invisible to optical telescopes. Images in the infrared show a bright young stellar object, with an associated reflection nebula seen as a glowing cone projecting from the young star. A cluster of stars is forming within the molecular cloud, but most of the infrared radiation is coming from this star, AFGL 2591-VLA3.^[3]

AFGL 2591

Reflection nebula
molecular cloud
Observation data: J2000 epoch
Right ascension	20h 29m 24.867s[1]
Declination	+40° 11′ 19.41″[1]
Distance	3330±110[2] pc
Apparent diameter	0.51' [1]
Constellation	Cygnus
Physical characteristics
Radius	est. 0.87–2.0[2] pc
Notable features	high-mass star-forming region[3]
Designations	AFGL 2591 IRAS 20275+4001 RAFGL 2591[1]
See also: Lists of nebulae

Initially AFGL 2591 was thought to be a single young, massive star expelling clouds of gas and dust in multiple events. It was estimated to be about 10 times the mass of the sun and at a distance of only 1,000 parsecs (3,300 light-years).^[4]