The circum-stellar disc surrounding IRAS 23077+6707, a nascent star situated approximately 1,000 light-years distant, exhibits an unexpected degree of disarray and turbulence, characterized by material extruding significantly beyond the disc’s primary plane in a manner not previously observed in comparable systems.
This Hubble image shows a protoplanetary disk around IRAS 23077+6707. Image credit: NASA / ESA / STScI / K. Monsch, CfA / J. DePasquale, STScI.
Circum-stellar discs, often termed protoplanetary discs, are envelopes of dust and gas enveloping pre-main-sequence stars, widely considered the primary locales for planetary genesis.
The disc associated with IRAS 23077+6707 possesses a diameter approaching 644 billion kilometers (400 billion miles), an expanse roughly fortyfold that of our Solar System extending to the farthest reaches of the Kuiper Belt.
This extensive disc effectively shrouds the central star, which researchers speculate could be either a singularly incandescent, massive stellar entity or a binary star system.
Furthermore, this colossal disc not only stands as the most extensive known structure conducive to planet formation but also presents itself as exceptionally anomalous.
“The precision of the details we are discerning is seldom encountered in imagery of protoplanetary discs, and the novel observations from Hubble underscore that stellar nurseries can be considerably more dynamic and disordered than our prior assumptions suggested,” stated Dr. Kristina Monsch, an astrophysicist at Harvard & Smithsonian’s Center for Astrophysics.
“Our vantage point provides an almost edge-on perspective of this disc, rendering its tenuous outer layers and asymmetrical characteristics particularly noteworthy.
While both the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have captured glimpses of analogous formations in other discs, IRAS 23077+6707 offers an unparalleled outlook, enabling us to delineate its intricate substructures within the visible spectrum with extraordinary resolution.
This elevates the system to a singular, novel platform for investigating the mechanisms of planet formation and the environmental conditions under which they transpire.”
Viewed from its edge, the disc bears a resemblance to a flattened disc-shaped food item, featuring a dark central band bordered by luminous upper and lower strata of cosmic dust and gas.
The remarkable vertical extent of these features was not the sole aspect that captivated the scientific community.
The recent imaging revealed the presence of vertically prominent, filamentary structures confined to one side of the disc, while the opposing side appears to possess a definitive boundary devoid of any discernible filaments.
This unusual, asymmetrical configuration intimates that active processes, such as the recent accretion of dust and gas or interactions with its cosmic environment, are instrumental in shaping the disc.
“We were astonished by the pronounced asymmetry of this disc,” commented Dr. Joshua Bennett Lovell, also affiliated with Harvard & Smithsonian’s Center for Astrophysics.
“Hubble has afforded us an intimate view of the tumultuous dynamics that sculpt discs during the accretion of new planets – processes that remain largely enigmatic but are now subject to investigation through an entirely novel methodology.”
The genesis of all planetary systems is intrinsically linked to discs of gas and particulate matter that orbit young stars.
Over extended temporal scales, stellar material is subsumed by the star, and planets coalesce from the residual constituents.
IRAS 23077+6707 may represent an amplified analogue of our nascent Solar System, possessing a disc mass estimated to be between ten and thirty times that of Jupiter, providing substantial material for the formation of multiple gas giants.
This factor, coupled with the recent discoveries, positions it as an exceptional subject for the study of planetary system origins.
“Hypothetically, IRAS 23077+6707 could harbor an extensive planetary system,” Dr. Monsch remarked.
“Although planetary formation might diverge under such immense mass conditions, the foundational principles are likely to remain consistent.”
“Currently, our inquiries considerably outweigh our resolutions, yet these recent images serve as a foundational element for comprehending the temporal evolution and environmental variability of planet formation.”
These discoveries are slated for publication in the esteemed Astrophysical Journal.
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Kristina Monsch et al. 2025. Complex multi-scale structure revealed in the edge-on protoplanetary disk IRAS 23077+6707 by Hubble. ApJ, in press; arXiv: 2510.11819
