An ancient astronomy book donated to the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) may contain an undiscovered text underneath the current one. The book also includes a famous work by Nicolaus Cope...
https://orbitingfrog.com/2024/02/surprising-renaissance-book-with-hidden-text/
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile will soon have the most powerful digital camera ever built. It will map the Universe and discover billions of galaxies and stars.
https://orbitingfrog.com/2024/01/mind-boggling-360-image-of-observatory-for-worlds-largest-camera/
The Soul Nebula, also known as Westerhout 5 (W5) amongst other names. Located in the constellation Cassiopeia, this celestial body is a vast star-forming region in the Perseus Arm of the Milky Wa...
Astronomers have discovered a new object in the Milky Way that is heavier than neutron stars but lighter than black holes. The discovery could allow for testing of Einstein’s general relativity...
https://orbitingfrog.com/2024/01/lightest-black-hole-or-heaviest-neutron-star/
Astronomers have (accidentally) discovered a galaxy called J0613+52 that appears to be devoid of stars. The galaxy is made almost entirely of gas and dark matter and is isolated, shedding light o...
https://orbitingfrog.com/2024/01/first-known-empty-galaxy-from-the-early-universe/
Private space companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic are revolutionizing space exploration with innovations like reusable rockets and ambitious goals for interplanetary travel. T...
A recent paper explores the hypothesis that life on Earth originated from extraterrestrial sources brought by interstellar objects (ISOs), such as the asteroid ‘Oumuamua detected in 2017, and f...
https://orbitingfrog.com/2024/01/interstellar-objects-could-they-bring-life/
New research reveals that headwinds made of gas and particles in the protosolar disk can strike planetesimals, throwing rocky debris out into space and altering the process of rocky planet format...
https://orbitingfrog.com/2024/01/planetesimals-and-nebulae-throw-debris/
Astronomers have discovered an Earth-sized exoplanet with a hemisphere of molten lava and another hemisphere perpetually in darkness. Another paper describes the discovery of a small, cold exopla...
https://orbitingfrog.com/2024/01/astronomers-discover-ultra-hot-exoplanet-with-a-lava-hemisphere/
NGC 281 is more fondly known as the Pacman Nebula. In normal wavelengths this image resembles(ish) the ghost-gobbling Pacman, but here I’m using narrowband SHO data so things are slightly diffe...