AFGL 2591
Encyclopedia
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| Distance
| 3261.6 Ly
AFGL 2591 is a young, massive star
in the constellation
Cygnus
. It is more than 3,000 light-years from Earth, at least 10 times the size of the Sun
, and over 20,000 times as bright. It is estimated to be about one million years old, about 1/5000th of the Sun's age.
of gas and dust, a common feature in the formation of stars that are similar in 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 reveal four expanding rings of gas and dust, indicating that the expulsion occurred.
| Distance
Cosmic distance ladder
The cosmic distance ladder is the succession of methods by which astronomers determine the distances to celestial objects. A real direct distance measurement of an astronomical object is possible only for those objects that are "close enough" to Earth...
| 3261.6 Ly
AFGL 2591 is a young, massive star
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
in the constellation
Constellation
In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....
Cygnus
Cygnus (constellation)
Cygnus is a northern constellation lying on the plane of the Milky Way. Its name is the Latinized Hellenic word for swan. One of the most recognizable constellations of the northern summer and autumn, it features a prominent asterism known as the Northern Cross...
. It is more than 3,000 light-years from Earth, at least 10 times the size of the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
, and over 20,000 times as bright. It is estimated to be about one million years old, about 1/5000th of the Sun's age.
Nebula
AFGL 2591 is expelling a nebulaNebula
A nebula is an interstellar cloud of dust, hydrogen gas, helium gas and other ionized gases...
of gas and dust, a common feature in the formation of stars that are similar in 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
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
.
Infrared
Infrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
images from instruments mounted on the telescope Gemini North reveal four expanding rings of gas and dust, indicating that the expulsion occurred.