January 7, 2026 — Atacama Desert, Chile: Astronomers have uncovered remarkable new details about how giant planets may form using breakthrough observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). A massive protoplanetary disk nicknamed “Gomez’s Hamburger” (“GoHam”) is providing an unprecedented look into the early stages of planet birth — especially for massive, wide-orbit worlds.
What Is Gomez’s Hamburger?
Gomez’s Hamburger isn’t a tasty treat in space — but its shape does resemble one. It is a huge disk of gas and dust orbiting a young star, seen almost edge-on from Earth. This rare viewing angle lets astronomers directly observe how the disk’s contents are structured both vertically (above and below the disk plane) and radially (from the center outwards).
Protoplanetary disks like GoHam are the birthplaces of planets. By mapping the different layers of dust and gas, researchers can begin to understand how tiny particles grow into planet-sized objects.
Inside the Cosmic Hamburger.
ALMA’s powerful millimeter-wavelength instruments revealed that GoHam’s disk is composed of distinct layers of molecules and dust:
- Carbon monoxide gases — both ^12CO and ^13CO — form extended layers reaching nearly 1,000 astronomical units (AU) from the star. (1 AU ≈ Earth-Sun distance.)
- Sulfur-bearing molecules (like sulfur monoxide) occupy different heights above the midplane of the disk.
- Millimeter-sized dust grains are concentrated in a thin central layer, ideal for building planet cores.
This layered structure offers astronomers a rare “slice” through a planet-forming environment — essentially showing where various materials reside as giant planets take shape.
Asymmetry: The Secret Sauce?
Unlike an ordinary burger, GoHam isn’t perfectly symmetrical. One side of the dust layer appears brighter and more extended than the other, a feature scientists believe is caused by a vortex or large-scale disturbance in the disk.
Such disturbances are exciting because they can trap dust particles, accelerating their growth into larger bodies — a crucial step in planet formation. The disk also shows signs of a photoevaporative wind, where the star’s light blows gas outward, reshaping the disk over time.
A Glimpse of a Future Giant Planet.
One of the most intriguing ALMA discoveries is a one-sided arc of sulfur monoxide just beyond the bright dust region. This arc aligns with a dense clump named GoHam b, which scientists interpret as material collapsing under its own gravity — a possible early stage of a giant planet forming far from its star.
If confirmed, this would be one of the earliest direct observations of giant planet formation in action, especially at wide orbital distances — challenging and expanding current planet-formation models.
Why This Matters for Planet Formation Science.
According to lead researcher Charles Law, GoHam’s unique view makes it a benchmark system for testing detailed planet formation theories. Because it is large, structured, and viewed edge-on, GoHam lets scientists watch the “planet assembly line” in action.
This discovery is especially valuable because it sheds light on how giant planets like Jupiter or more massive ones may form far from their host stars — a scenario that existing models don’t always predict.
Looking Ahead.
The study was unveiled during the American Astronomical Society’s annual meeting and is being prepared for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. As ALMA continues to push the limits of precision and resolution, astronomers expect more discoveries that will deepen our understanding of planetary birth and the diversity of worlds in the universe.