Gomez's Hamburger

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Gomez's Hamburger, also known as IRAS 18059−3211 or Gomez's Whopper<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is an astronomical object believed to be a young A-type star surrounded by a protoplanetary disk.<ref name=bujarrabal2009/> It was initially identified as a planetary nebula, and its distance was estimated to be approximately 6500 light-years away from Earth.<ref name="STSI">Template:Cite web</ref> However, recent results suggest that this object is a young star surrounded by a protoplanetary disk, at a distance of about 900 light-years away.<ref name=bujarrabal2009/><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

It was discovered in 1985 on sky photographs obtained by Arturo Gómez, support technical staff at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory near Vicuña, Chile.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The photos suggested that there was a dark band across the object, but its exact structure was difficult to determine because of the atmospheric turbulence that hampers all images taken from the ground. The star itself has a surface temperature of approximately 10,000 K.

The "buns" are light reflecting off dust. A disk of dust seen nearly exactly edge-on obscures the star and produces the dark band in the middle, the "burger".<ref name=bujarrabal2009/> It has a dim visual magnitude of 14.4.

Possible protoplanet

An emission at the southern part of the disk seen in carbon monoxide imaging, as well as in mid-infrared imaging, was interpreted as a protoplanet candidate, termed GoHam b. This candidate would have a mass of 0.8-11.4 Template:Jupiter mass.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Protoplanetary disk can however form disk fragments that are gravitationally bound and can mimic protoplanets. In the case of GoHam b it is not clear if it is a protoplanet or just a disk fragment.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>