Planet nursery Dracula's Chivito is the largest disk yet discovered

About 1,000 light-years away, astronomers have imaged a very large disk of gas and dust that is forming planets. Hubble’s first visible-light picture shows unusual, wispy filaments concentrated on one side of the disk.

About 1,000 light-years from Earth, astronomers have obtained the first visible-light image of a very large disk of gas and dust around a young star that is forming planets. The disk is the largest planet-forming disk found so far and spans nearly 400 billion miles, about 40 times wider than the solar system. The new Hubble image shows wispy material extending above and below the disk and an unexpected concentration of filaments on one side. Researchers have nicknamed the object "Dracula's Chivito" in reference to the heritage of team members. What was announced: - The object is located roughly 1,000 light-years from Earth. - The disk spans nearly 400 billion miles (640 billion km), about 40 times the width of the solar system. - Hubble provided the first visible-light image of the disk; it was first identified in 2016. - Wispy upper layers and extended filaments stretch above and below the disk and are concentrated on one side. - The disk mass is estimated at 10–30 times that of Jupiter, providing material for multiple gas giants. - The disk may hide a single massive hot star or a binary pair and was nicknamed "Dracula's Chivito" by the research team. Summary: This object offers a scaled-up example of what early planetary systems can look like and serves as a natural laboratory for studying how planets form. Researchers plan continued observations with Hubble and other telescopes to learn what is shaping the disk's asymmetric structure.