2000ApJ...534..846H

We report on high angular resolution observations of AFGL 2136 at 50 and 100 µm from NASA's Kuiper Airborne Observatory. Our data consist of diffraction-limited scans in two orthogonal directions as well as photometry. The far-infrared (FIR) emission is very compact with an unresolved core and also exhibits low surface brightness wings that extend out to a radius of order 70" at 100 µm. We have attempted to fit our observations and the photometry and size data at other wavelengths with simple, dust envelope models in order to place limits on the quantity and distribution of dust around AFGL 2136. Spherically symmetric models cannot fit the data, but we show that a simple approximation to a toroidal dust distribution can fit the energy distribution and size data rather well. The successful models imply a density gradient in the cloud of order ρ∝r^–1.5 and optical depth at 100 µm of order unity.