Butterfly basin: Astronomers find the biggest known reservoir of planet-forming ingredients around a young star!

In the vast expanse of the cosmos, countless elements and compounds converge in cosmic clouds, offering the basic building blocks needed for the formation of planets. Now, astronomers have stumbled upon what they assert is the biggest known reservoir of planet-forming ingredients identified to date, swirling around a young star.

The gargantuan disk, located about 1000 light-years from Earth, boasts a diameter approximately 3,300 times greater than the distance between Earth and the sun! Given its size, it is believed to house an ample supply of gas and dust capable of birthing super-sized planets in far-flung orbits.

Dubbed IRAS 23077, this planet-forming disk — referred to as a protoplanetary disk by astronomers — presents a striking resemblance to a butterfly in the images captured. The dark, dusty strip at the centre mirrors the elongated body of a butterfly, while the blue and white lobes evoke its wings, with two narrow filaments resembling antennae.

Encircling a star situated 1,000 light-years away, this disk was initially detected in 2016. However, it was only recently confirmed as a prolific nursery for nascent planets through observations conducted by telescopes in Hawaii.

Lead author Kristina Monsch of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics has expressed excitement over the potential insights this colossal and gas-rich disk could offer regarding “the birth and evolution of worlds beyond our own”.

Monsch adds that this disk, double the size of the previous record-holder, holds promise for NASA's Hubble and Webb space telescopes. These instruments may be able to discern the ongoing formation of planets akin to Jupiter or larger within the disk's confines.

The quest to uncover such celestial bodies will continue in full force. According to Monsch, some worlds are probably already out there, and “we just have to look for them”.

These findings were detailed in Monday's edition of Astrophysical Journal Letters and can be accessed here.