What if Hubble just found the biggest planet nursery ever?

Color (giy) PS1 image of Dracula's Chivito. Credit: arXiv (2024). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2402.01063

Have you ever looked at a blurry “baby picture” of the Solar System and wondered what we really looked like as a newborn?  Welcome, dear readers, to FreeAstroScience—this article was crafted by FreeAstroScience.com only for you, with one goal: to make the universe feel knowable, not intimidating. Today we’re meeting a planet-forming disk so huge and weird that it forces us to pause and rethink our neat little diagrams of planet formation. [web:1][web:20] Stick with us until the end, because there’s an “aha” moment hiding inside the chaos—and yes, it changes how we picture the first chapters of worlds like ours.

What exactly did Hubble discover in “Dracula’s Chivito”?

Hubble imaged the largest planet-forming (protoplanetary) disk ever observed around a young star: IRAS 23077+6707, nicknamed “Dracula’s Chivito.” The system sits roughly 1,000 light-years from Earth, close enough (in cosmic terms) that Hubble can map delicate structure in reflected starlight.

The disk is staggering in size—spanning nearly 400 billion miles, described as about 40 times the diameter of our Solar System out to the Kuiper Belt. From our viewpoint it’s tilted almost edge-on, and that geometry blocks the central star’s light, creating a dark lane flanked by brighter “upper” and “lower” layers that can look like a cosmic sandwich.

Why does it look like a “hamburger” in space?

In edge-on disks, dust near the midplane is thick enough to hide the star, so we mostly see light scattered by dust above and below the disk. That simple viewing trick is why these objects are so valuable: the disk becomes a silhouette, and tiny changes in thickness and texture start to pop.

Oh, and the nickname has a human story too: “Dracula” nods to discoverer Ciprian Berghea’s Transylvanian roots, and “chivito” refers to a hamburger-like sandwich from Uruguay.

Why are the disk’s asymmetric, turbulent features such a big deal?

Hubble didn’t just confirm the disk is huge—it showed it’s messy. NASA describes bright wisps extending far above and below the disk—more dramatic than what astronomers typically see in similar circumstellar disks.

The research paper preview on arXiv adds a key detail: extended filaments reach roughly 10 arcseconds from the northern edges of both nebulae, while no comparable southern filaments appear. That one-sided look matters, since it hints the disk isn’t merely “pretty” or “photogenic”—it’s physically unbalanced in a way models must explain.

What might be stirring this disk?

The arXiv summary states the wispy features rise well above the midplane across all observed filters, suggesting a complex outer disk atmosphere shaped by processes such as infall, dynamical stirring, or gravitational instability. [web:20] NASA’s release also emphasizes that the system raises more questions than answers, and frames these images as a starting point for understanding planet formation across environments.

Here’s the “aha” moment: if the biggest known planet nursery isn’t a calm, symmetrical record player—but a lopsided, fraying storm—then “quiet disks make planets” may be the exception, not the rule. And that’s exciting, because it means real planet formation could be closer to weather than clockwork: gusts, gaps, collisions, and sudden deliveries of fresh material.

Can a disk this massive really build planets?

Yes—at least it has the raw ingredients. NASA reports a disk mass estimate of about 10 to 30 times Jupiter’s mass, which is enough material to form multiple gas giants.

The Smithsonian release, describing earlier millimeter-wave follow-up, reinforces the same big picture: the disk is extremely rich in dust and gas (planet-building material), and the Submillimeter Array provided “smoking–gun” evidence that it’s a rotating disk around a young star. It also suggests the central star may be more massive than the Sun, with Monsch quoted as estimating a star likely two to four times the Sun’s mass based on SMA data.

Key numbers (for your mental map)

Property	Best-supported value from sources	Why it matters
Object name / nickname	IRAS 23077+6707 (“Dracula’s Chivito”)	Helps you track the same target across Hubble, radio, and paper results.
Distance	~1,000 light-years [web:1]	Sets the scale for converting angles in images to real size.
Disk span	Nearly 400 billion miles	Explains why it’s called the largest known planet-forming disk.
Orientation	Nearly edge-on; inclination ~80°	Creates the dark midplane lane and boosts visibility of vertical structure.
Filaments	~10″ north; no matching southern filaments [web:20]	A clue that the asymmetry is real, not just a viewing illusion.
Disk mass (estimate)	~10–30 Jupiter masses	Enough raw material to form multiple giant planets.

By the way, even with that much material, planet formation may not be “faster” or “easier”—big disks can also be unstable, clumpy, and constantly disturbed. That’s exactly why this object is such a gift: it’s an extreme laboratory that still speaks to the same basic story—planets form from dusty disks around young stars.

What questions are people searching—and what can we answer right now?

Is IRAS 23077+6707 really the largest protoplanetary disk?

NASA’s Hubble release explicitly calls it the largest planet-forming disk ever observed and gives the “nearly 400 billion miles” scale. Earlier follow-up work presented via the Smithsonian also describes it as likely the largest planet-forming disk ever seen.

Why is one side filamentary and the other side sharp?

The arXiv summary reports northern filaments with no comparable southern features, pointing to an intrinsic asymmetry that needs physical explanation. [web:20] It also lists candidate causes—like infall, dynamical stirring, or gravitational instability—without claiming a final answer yet.

What kind of star is hidden inside the disk?

NASA notes the disk hides the young star and says scientists think it may be either a hot, massive star or a pair of stars. The Smithsonian release discusses SMA-based interpretation suggesting the central star could be a few times the Sun’s mass.

What should we watch for next?

The arXiv summary emphasizes that deeper observations are still needed and that current modeling cannot yet distinguish between dust-settling and no-settling scenarios. That “we need more data” message is honest science—and it’s the kind of uncertainty that usually precedes breakthroughs.

Conclusion

IRAS 23077+6707—“Dracula’s Chivito”—isn’t just big; it’s a loud reminder that nature doesn’t owe us symmetry. Hubble shows a giant, edge-on disk with wisps and one-sided filaments, while mass estimates suggest enough material to build multiple gas giants.

So, when you picture planet formation, try swapping the tidy textbook sketch for something more alive: a dusty atmosphere, uneven lighting, filaments like smoke, and gravity pulling strings we’re only starting to see. And as we keep exploring together at FreeAstroScience.com, let’s keep our minds awake—remembering that the sleep of reason breeds monsters.

References

1. NASA: “NASA’s Hubble Reveals Largest Found Chaotic Birthplace of Planets”
2. NASA Science Asset: “Dracula’s Chivito (IRAS 23077+6707)”
3. Smithsonian Institution: “A Giant Cosmic Butterfly’s Nature Is Revealed”
4. arXiv: “Hubble reveals complex multi-scale structure in the edge-on protoplanetary disk IRAS 23077+6707”