Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Astronomy and planetary science are the study of objects and phenomena that occur beyond the Earth’s atmosphere. This includes investigating stars and their interaction with each other and the planetary systems that orbit them.
A phenomenon that affects the magnetic fields of rotating bodies could be involved in recurring changes in the Sun’s behaviour, which are related to a periodic flipping of its field. The proposal is a fresh take on this strange effect.
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, emphasizes the importance of conserving wild plant species, plus a wonderstruck sky-watcher spots a brilliant meteor, in the weekly dip into Nature’s archive.
Solar wind is highly structured yet variable. Close-up observations of the solar atmosphere reveal that the changing connectivity of multiple sources in the solar corona drives the observed complexity and variability in the inner heliosphere.
Observation of new lava flows between different Magellan radar scans in regions of Sif Mons and Niobe Planitia confirms that volcanism on Venus is still ongoing. This evidence also suggests the planet’s volcanic activity exceeds previous estimates.
Alkylsulfonic acids represent an alternative source of sulfur for the origins of life. Here the authors demonstrate, via laboratory simulation experiments, the formation of these compounds in interstellar analog ices with implications for their incorporation into asteroids such as Ryugu.
The accretion disk from a star tidally disrupted by a supermassive black hole undergoes Lense–Thirring precession with strong, quasi-periodic X-ray flux and temperature modulations.
A phenomenon that affects the magnetic fields of rotating bodies could be involved in recurring changes in the Sun’s behaviour, which are related to a periodic flipping of its field. The proposal is a fresh take on this strange effect.
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, emphasizes the importance of conserving wild plant species, plus a wonderstruck sky-watcher spots a brilliant meteor, in the weekly dip into Nature’s archive.