In a path-breaking discovery, scientists have spotted the largest-ever planet-forming disk - officially called IRAS 23077+6707 - nearly 1,000 light-years away from Earth.
When the scientists initially spotted it in 2016, the planet-forming disk's true nature remained hidden for years.
In the new research, which was carried out using advanced telescopes, it was found that this cosmic element is the largest planet-forming disk ever discovered.
A cosmic butterfly?
When the planet-forming disk was first observed by Ciprian T. Berghea from the U.S. Naval Observatory using the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS), the disk's unique appearance made it look like a giant cosmic butterfly.
“After finding out about this possible planet-forming disk from Pan-STARRS data, we were keen to observe it with the SMA, which allowed us to understand its physical nature,” said Kristina Monsch, an astrophysicist who headed the Submillimeter Array (SMA) campaign, as reported by Earth.com.
The SMA is an array of telescopes in Hawaii which is capable of detecting millimetre wavelengths that are important in unravelling the composition of cosmic objects like IRAS 23077.
Protoplanetary disks are nothing but 'nurseries' of planets
With the help of SMA, it was found that the massive protoplanetary disk is a cloud of dust and gas in which planets are born.
“What we found was incredible — evidence that this was the largest planet-forming disk ever discovered. It is extremely rich in dust and gas, which we know are the building blocks of planets,” Monsch explained.
Protoplanetary disks, in a way, are nurseries for planets. In these disks, giant planets like Jupiter and Saturn, and rocky planets like Earth and Mars are formed around young stars.
These disks are filled with dust and gas in abundance and rotate in a way which helps astronomers find their sizes as well as the masses of their central stars.
Here's what these disks contain
While observing the IRAS 23077, the astronomers were able to gather multiple information regarding the unique protoplanetary disk.
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“The data from the SMA offer us the smoking-gun evidence that this is a disk, and coupled with the estimate of the system’s distance, that it is rotating around a star likely two to four times more massive than our own sun,” Monsch said.
Such information is important in understanding how the planets are formed in such extreme environments.
(With inputs from agencies)