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NASA Discovers Enormous Protoplanetary Disk 1,000 Light-Years Away

1/1/2026

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Summary

Story summary

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captured the largest protoplanetary disk, IRAS 23077+6707, about 1,000 light-years from Earth.
The disk, nicknamed "Dracula’s Chivito," spans nearly 400 billion miles—about 40 times the size of our solar system.
It shows chaotic, asymmetric features with filaments on only one side.
Researchers say the discovery could reveal planet-formation processes like those that formed the solar system 4.6 billion years ago.

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Story summary

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captured the largest protoplanetary disk, IRAS 23077+6707, about 1,000 light-years from Earth.
The disk, nicknamed "Dracula’s Chivito," spans nearly 400 billion miles—about 40 times the size of our solar system.
It shows chaotic, asymmetric features with filaments on only one side.
Researchers say the discovery could reveal planet-formation processes like those that formed the solar system 4.6 billion years ago.