Hubble spots massive sandwich shaped blob in deep-space
Scientists leave one more for space fans tasty enjoy before the end of the year. Using the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have captured a stunning image of the largest protoplanetary disk ever observed, which happens to be shaped like a giant celestial sandwich. The massive formation of dust and gas, which astronomers call Dracula’s Chivito, is about 1,000 light-years from Earth and stretches about 400 billion kilometers. To put that into perspective, NASA estimates that this disk is about 40 times the diameter of our own solar system.
But beyond getting stomachs rumbling, astronomers say additional research on the vampire disk could provide new insights into the early formation of other planetary systems, perhaps even our own. The researchers then suggest that this unusually volatile disk could “represent a larger-scale version of our early solar system.” The astronomers’ new findings were published this week in The Astrophysics Journal.
Hubble spots a giant vampire sandwich?
Vampire Disk offers a glimpse into the dramatic planetary past
Planetary disks, sometimes called planet nurseries, are the building blocks of solar systems. All planetary systems initially form disks of gas and dust around young stars. Eventually, planets form as material in the disk coalesces and accumulates. This particular disk, officially designated IRAS 23077+6707, has an estimated mass 10 to 30 times that of Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. Astronomers note that it is both the largest disk and one of the most unusual observed, with filament-like features appearing on only one of its two faces, suggesting that it is shaped by dynamic processes such as recent dust and gas falls. The result is a “surprisingly chaotic and turbulent” composition.
“These new Hubble images show that planet nurseries can be much more active and chaotic than previously thought,” Kristina Monsch, study co-author and postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Astrophysics, a collaboration between Stanford University and the Smithsonian, said in a statement.
Meanwhile, this spooky nickname is a nod to the home regions of the astronomers involved. One comes from Transylvania (hence Dracula) and the other from Uruguay, whose national dish is a sandwich called “chivito”. The researchers say the image of the flattened disc looks like a hamburger, although one could easily argue that it looks more like a hot dog.
Related: [Hubble Space Telescope caught a second glimpse of comet 3I/ATLAS.]
Don’t count out the Hubble yet
The Hubble Telescope (launched in 1990) may not have the most powerful onboard technology compared to the more recently launched James Webb Space Telescope, but it regularly makes major scientific contributions. Just this year, Hubble got a rare glimpse of large space rock collisions, showed a white dwarf eating an object that looked like Pluto, and created the largest photo mosaic yet of the relatively nearby Andromeda galaxy.
“Hubble has given us a front-row seat to observe the chaotic processes that shape disks as they build new planets – processes that we don’t yet fully understand but can now study in a whole new way,” added study co-investigator and Center for Astrophysics Joshua Bennett.
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