Hubble has imaged the largest known protoplanetary disk, nicknamed "Dracula’s Chivito," located about 1,000 light‑years away and stretching roughly 400 billion miles across. Catalogued as IRAS 23077+6707, the disk carries an estimated mass of 10–30 Jupiter masses and shows asymmetric, filament‑like features that hint at recent infall and turbulent dynamics. Researchers say this chaotic structure could provide a scaled‑up perspective on the processes that shaped early planetary systems. The findings are published in The Astrophysical Journal.
Hubble Images Giant 'Dracula’s Chivito' — The Largest Known Protoplanetary Disk
This Hubble Space Telescope image shows the largest planet-forming disk ever observed around a young star. It spans nearly 400 billion miles—40 times the diameter of our solar system. Tilted nearly edge-on as seen from Earth, the dark, dusty disk resembles a hamburger.
The Hubble Space Telescope has captured a striking image of the largest protoplanetary disk yet observed: a flattened, sandwich‑like cloud of dust and gas nicknamed "Dracula’s Chivito." Located roughly 1,000 light‑years from Earth, the disk spans about 400 billion miles — roughly 40 times the diameter of our solar system — and may offer a scaled‑up view of early planetary system formation.
Catalogued as IRAS 23077+6707, the disk's mass is estimated at 10–30 times that of Jupiter. Astronomers describe the structure as unusually asymmetric: filament‑like features appear on only one side, suggesting recent infall of material and strong dynamical shaping that has produced an "unexpectedly chaotic and turbulent" environment.
"These new Hubble images show that planet nurseries can be much more active and chaotic than we expected," said Kristina Monsch, a co‑author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Astrophysics.
Planetary disks — often called "planet nurseries" — are rings of gas and dust around young stars from which planets form. Studying extreme examples like IRAS 23077+6707 helps astronomers test models of disk evolution and planet formation and could reveal processes that operated in our own solar system when it was young.
The playful nickname "Dracula’s Chivito" reflects the team’s international connections: one researcher is from Transylvania (hence Dracula) and another from Uruguay, where the chivito is a popular sandwich. Observers have likened the disk's flattened, layered appearance to a hamburger or, for some, a hot dog.
Although Hubble was launched in 1990 and lacks some of the newest instruments aboard newer observatories, it continues to deliver high‑impact science. This year Hubble has captured rare collisions of large rocky bodies, documented a white dwarf consuming a Pluto‑sized object, and produced the largest photomosaic yet of the Andromeda galaxy.
"Hubble has given us a front‑row seat to the chaotic processes that are shaping disks as they build new planets — processes that we don't yet fully understand but can now study in a whole new way," added Joshua Bennett, a study co‑investigator at the Center for Astrophysics.
The new observations and analysis of IRAS 23077+6707 were published this week in The Astrophysical Journal.
