A high-significance detection of primordial tidal torque imprints

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 05 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02948-wCombining galaxy kinematics with a reconstruction of the primordial density field has enabled the detection of a substantial imprint of primordial tidal torques in present-day galaxy spins. This strengthens evidence that the angular momentum of galaxies originates from large-scale tidal forces on their proto-halos at very early times.

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A discrete picture of magnetic fields in microquasar jets

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 29 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02935-1Sewn or knitted? State-of-the-art magnetohydrodynamic simulations offer an insight into how magnetic field topology might be shaped by the episodic nature of the relativistic ejections in the ‘clocked’ Galactic microquasar SS 433.

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Primary evaporite in southern Utopia Planitia on Mars from Zhurong rover observations

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 29 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02917-3China’s Zhurong rover has discovered long-sought primary evaporites in ~0.76-Ga-old rocks during its traverse in southern Utopia Planitia on Mars. Trapped fluids within them could preserve crucial clues to the planet’s past environment and habitability.

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Non-adiabatic entropy increase in the solar wind governed by velocity spikes

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 28 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02923-5By tracking the same fast solar wind stream from Solar Orbiter to Earth, this study shows that intermittent velocity spikes transport energy and contribute to entropy increase, helping explain why the solar wind cools more slowly than adiabatic expansion predicts.

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Vigorous turbulence driven by quasar-mode feedback in a cluster core

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 28 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02939-xXRISM observations of the galaxy cluster H1821+643 reveal unexpectedly strong turbulence in hot gas around a central radio-quiet quasar and show that quasar-mode feedback injects ≳1–10% of the radiative energy of the active galactic nucleus into the intracluster medium on 20–100-kpc scales.

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Dynamic electron radiation belt at Mercury controlled by solar wind driving

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 27 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02925-3Mercury is found to host a radiation belt under weak solar wind driving that becomes unstable during strong forcing, providing insights into energetic particle dynamics in an extreme planetary environment.

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Kilometre-scale Jovian moon characterized for a potential JUICE flyby

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 24 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02929-zSpace- and ground-based observations coupled with the stellar occultation technique characterized Jupiter’s tiny moon Kallichore, reducing its orbital uncertainty by 80% and enabling a future close flyby by the JUICE mission.

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Eyes upturned towards infinity

Stars in our eyes.

nature.com

Limited direct fluid exchange between the deep subsurface ocean and the shallow subsurface environment of Europa

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 23 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02918-2Heat loss in Europa’s icy shell limits direct exchange between the subsurface ocean and shallow environments. In dykes, turbulent cooling could form frazil ice, leading to hydraulic clogging and suppressing direct ocean to shallow subsurface exchange.

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Seismic evidence for a melt-depleted lower crust and transcrustal magmatism on Mars - Nature Astronomy

Seismic data from NASA’s InSight mission reveal a melt-depleted lower crust on Mars and indicate that Earth-like, vertically integrated, transcrustal magmatic systems and associated crustal differenti...

doi.org

GRaviCon2026

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 21 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02924-4The first edition of GRaviCon was held at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Italy, organized by early-career researchers. The conference strengthened the connection between data analysis, observations, and experiments in gravitational wave science, also highlighting challenges the community will face with future observatories across a wide range of frequencies.

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Cometary tail detected on a near-Earth object based on nongravitational perturbations

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 21 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02912-8Based on activity inferred from observed comet-like nongravitational acceleration, we report the detection of a cometary tail on a near-Earth object that was previously classified as inactive. This finding demonstrates that nongravitational accelerations can be used to infer the outgassing of ices on covertly ‘inactive’ objects such as dark comets.

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Sugar detected in interstellar space

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 20 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02909-3An ultrasensitive, broadband millimetre spectral survey reveals the presence of erythrulose, a chiral four-carbon sugar, in the interstellar medium. Quantum chemical and astrochemical simulations suggest that erythrulose can form under interstellar conditions, representing a viable sugar feedstock for prebiotic chemistry.

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A stellar-mass black hole in ω Centauri

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 17 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02937-zA stellar-mass black hole in ω Centauri

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PLATO on the footsteps of Kepler for transit timing

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 17 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02933-3PLATO on the footsteps of Kepler for transit timing

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Killing two birds with many tiny stones?

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 17 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02919-1Recent work finds that an influx of microscopic interplanetary meteoric dust particles can provide a plausible explanation for two long standing mysteries of the Venus clouds: the identification of both the lower haze and the unknown UV absorber.

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Gravitational waves expand their horizons

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 17 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02940-4For a long time, gravitational wave astronomy has been a data-scarce field. That status seems to be changing as existing detectors find ever more compact-object mergers and plans for new instruments take shape.

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Measuring the high-energy neutrino sky using the deep-valley neutrino observatory TAMBO

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 15 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02916-4TAMBO will measure supra-petaelectronvolt tau neutrinos from the Universe by looking for the characteristic air shower of particles that are produced by the decay of a tau lepton that has interacted with Earth’s crust.

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Magnetic field topology and colliding discrete ejecta in the precessing jets of SS 433

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 14 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02922-6Numerical simulations show that collisions between discrete jet ejecta in SS 433 naturally align magnetic fields and form stable plasma bullets, providing a self-consistent explanation for the microquasar’s unusual relativistic jets.

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Detection of a four-carbon sugar in interstellar space

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 13 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02905-7A monosaccharide sugar has been detected in an interstellar cloud: the chiral ketose erythrulose. Observations and chemical modelling show that it forms efficiently on dust grains, supporting an interstellar origin for prebiotic sugars linked to early life.

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A Sweet Surprise: Scientists Find Sugar Deep in Our Galaxy (Gift Article)

It’s the first time a sugar molecule has been detected in interstellar space. The discovery provides tantalizing new clues into how life may have arisen on Earth.

nytimes.com

Detection of a four-carbon sugar in interstellar space - Nature Astronomy

A monosaccharide sugar has been detected in an interstellar cloud: the chiral ketose erythrulose. Observations and chemical modelling show that it forms efficiently on dust grains, supporting an interstellar origin for prebiotic sugars linked to early life.

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AI + Astronomy: Models, Data, Discovery

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 10 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02911-9The second international workshop on “AI + Astronomy: Models, Data, Discovery”, held in Lausanne from 31 March to 1 April 2026 convened more than 50 scholars from the EPFL Laboratory of Astrophysics (Versoix, Switzerland) and Zhejiang Lab (Hangzhou, China). The event focused on the transformative impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on data-intensive astronomical research and provided a platform to address the complexities arising from its use.

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Advancing the search for technosignatures

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 10 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02906-6The IAU’s first fully online symposium brought researchers together from around the globe to discuss technosignatures. Upcoming all-sky surveys, exoplanet missions and tools to search data archives offer new directions for the field.

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Non-gravitational acceleration indicative of cometary activity of near-Earth object

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 10 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02913-7Subtle orbital shifts prompted deep imaging of near-Earth object 1998 SH2, which uncovered a weak tail and confirmed cometary activity. The result indicates that more near-Earth objects currently classified as asteroids may also exhibit hidden low-level activity.

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Isotopic imprints of late molecular cloud infall in the outer Solar System

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 10 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02927-1Anomalous carbonaceous chondrites record late infall of isotopically distinct material to the outer disk and suggest that Bennu- and Ryugu-like bodies formed at the migrating water ice line, revising the history of Earth’s volatile-rich building blocks.

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The multimessenger Universe as a training ground for frontier AI

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 10 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02910-wMultimessenger astronomy is set to provide a data deluge that will create a domain for physics-informed artificial intelligence to contribute transformative assistance and insight.

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Have people stopped trusting science? The data tell a surprising story

Nature - Some say there’s a global crisis of trust — but research reveals where the real problems lie.

go.nature.com

High nitrogen and carbon isotopic ratios in the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 06 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02921-7Very Large Telescope observations of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS indicate that the carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios are consistent with formation in the outer disk of an older low-metallicity star.

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