THE JUGGLER - A 3-LOBED NEAR-INFRARED REFLECTION NEBULA TOWARD CRL-2136 = OH-17.6 + 0.2

We present near-infrared, polarimetric images of a complex nebula toward CRL 2136 = OH 17.6 + 0.2, an optically obscured maser source generally classified in the literature as a protostar. The 2.2-mu-m images reveal three main lobes oriented in a triangle, with peaks separated by 5"-8". Two of the lobes extend over 30" from the center of the nebula, and one possesses filimentary structure. Based on the high degree and patterns of linear polarization throughout the nebula, we conclude that the extended flux is due to scattering off dust grains. The distribution of polarized light suggests that a central source illuminates paraboloid or conical cavities within a dust envelope that is otherwise opaque to near-infrared photons. A cluster of approximately 30 point sources appears to be associated with the nebulosity; the brightest source, IRS 1, lies between the three extended lobes and is likely the illuminating source for the nebula. We also confirm the detection of a narrow, intense (46 +/- 5 Jy) 22 GHz H2O maser line at 26.3 km s-1 which appears to coincide with prior detections of CO, CH, and HCN near that velocity. Observations at 43 GHz place an upper limit of 3.0 Jy for SiO (v = 1, J = 1 --> 0) emission in the source. From the radial velocity of the H2O maser emission, we estimate the kinematic distance of CRL 2136 is approximately 2 kpc, implying an infrared luminosity of approximately 5 x 10(4) L. Based on this luminosity and the inferred intrinsic 2.2-mu-m flux of IRS 1, which taken together suggest an equivalent blackbody temperature of 7000-15,000 K, we estimate that this object has a mass greater than approximately 10 M. and an age less than approximately 10,000 yr. Based on the complex near-infrared morphology of the source, we propose a model to explain the dependence of polarization on wavelength previously reported for large aperture observations of CRL 2136 and several other protostars. The degree of polarization in these objects declines from 2 to 4-mu-m but is elevated through the 3.1 um ice band. We argue that this behavior is caused by an opaque torus rich in icy grains, aligned nearly perpendicular to the plane of the sky. The patterns of polarization position angle within 5" of the central source support this interpretation and may provide evidence for the orientation of the disk plane. Analysis of the distribution of scattered light indicates that the grain density varies as r-(2-0 +/- 0.5) between 8" and 15" from the apparent position of the central source and that the nebula contains approximately 0.1 M. of dust. On the basis of the similarity of CRL 2136 to several better-studied protostellar counterparts, and the likelihood that an equatorial disk surrounds the central object, we suggest that CRL 2136 probably possesses collimated molecular outflows that have apparently escaped detection thus far.