Hubble Reveals Complex Multiscale Structure in the Edge-on Protoplanetary Disk IRAS23077+6707

Abstract We present high-resolution ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mo>≲</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0</mml:mn> <mml:mover accent="true"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>.</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>″</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:mover> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> </mml:math> ) Hubble Space Telescope/Wide Field Camera 3 imaging of the near edge-on ( i ∼ 80°) protoplanetary disk IRAS23077+6707 (“Dracula’s Chivito”), obtained across six broadband filters spanning 0.4–1.6 μ m. These observations unveil the scattered light from this unusually large disk (∼14″, or ∼4200 au at 300 pc) in remarkable detail, revealing a rich tapestry of substructures, including brightness asymmetries and signatures of dynamical activity. Extended filaments are detected extending ∼10″ from the northern edges of both nebulae, while no comparable southern features are observed. In addition to large-scale asymmetries, the disk exhibits prominent wispy features that extend well above the midplane and are visible in all filters, suggesting a complex, possibly turbulent outer disk atmosphere shaped by infall, dynamical stirring, or gravitational instability. The central dark lane narrows from optical to near-IR wavelengths, and high-resolution millimeter data reveal compact midplane emission. Although our radiative transfer simulations show that the current data cannot yet distinguish between dust settling and no-settling scenarios, they underscore the need for resolved midinfrared observations of this unique system. IRAS23077 thus represents a rare and valuable laboratory for studying the vertical structure, asymmetries, and evolutionary state of protoplanetary disks.