Gomez's Hamburger
| Observation data Epoch J2000 Equinox J2000 | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Sagittarius |
| Right ascension | 18h 09m 13.40s |
| Declination | −32° 10′ 50.0″ |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 14.4 |
| Characteristics | |
| Spectral type | A0III: |
| Astrometry | |
| Distance | 250±50 pc |
| Details | |
| Mass | 2.5±0.5 M☉ |
| Luminosity | ~15 L☉ |
| Temperature | ~10,000 K |
| Other designations | |
| IRAS 18059-3211 | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
Gomez's Hamburger, also known as IRAS 18059-3211 or Gomez's Whopper is an astronomical object believed to be a young A-type star surrounded by a protoplanetary disk. It was initially identified as a planetary nebula, and its distance was estimated to be approximately 6500 light-years away from Earth. 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.
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. 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". It has a dim visual magnitude of 14.4.