Astronomy and planetary science articles within Nature Physics

Featured

  • Editorial |

    Half of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to James Peebles “for theoretical discoveries in physical cosmology” and the other half is shared by Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz “for the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star”.

  • Research Highlight |

    • Stefanie Reichert

  • Article |

    Superionic states of matter simultaneously exhibit some of the properties of a liquid and of a solid. Detailed numerical simulations predict two superionic phases in mixtures of helium and water.

    • Cong Liu
    • , Hao Gao
    •  & Dingyu Xing

  • Research Highlight |

    • Stefanie Reichert

  • Comment |

    Einstein’s general theory of relativity is one of the most important accomplishments in the history of science. We reassess the importance of one of the expeditions that made its experimental verification possible — a story that involves a sense of adventure and scientific ingenuity in equal measure.

    • Luís C. B. Crispino
    •  & Daniel J. Kennefick

  • Editorial |

    A careful analysis of data obtained from the IceCube telescope in Antarctica shows that atmospheric neutrinos can be used as a tomographic probe of the Earth.

  • Measure for Measure |

    Bart Verberck reflects on measuring the speed of light, its role in metrology, and special relativity.

    • Bart Verberck

  • News & Views |

    Using data from the IceCube telescope, a study presents the first attempt at obtaining geophysical information about Earth’s internal structure from the flux of neutrinos that pass through it.

    • Véronique Van Elewyck

  • Letter |

    Geophysical properties of the Earth’s interior have been inferred by looking at the absorption of neutrinos as they pass through our planet.

    • Andrea Donini
    • , Sergio Palomares-Ruiz
    •  & Jordi Salvado

  • Article |

    Wind-mediated ripples form on a centimetre scale in sand, and in dunes on a scale spanning tens of metres, but patterns on intermediate scales are rare. A theory now fills the gap by predicting megaripples, which resemble structures seen on Mars.

    • Marc Lämmel
    • , Anne Meiwald
    •  & Klaus Kroy

  • Letter |

    The first observational evidence of plasma heating through the dissipation of Alfvén-wave energy in tenuous regions of solar magnetism provides fresh insight into heating processes in the solar atmosphere, and in other magnetohydrodynamic systems.

    • Samuel D. T. Grant
    • , David B. Jess
    •  & Rebecca L. Hewitt

  • News & Views |

    Active galactic nuclei are firm favourites to be revealed as the source of cosmic rays, but solid evidence has proven elusive. A model taking both local and global nuclei propagation into account may help to close the deal.

    • Julia Becker Tjus

  • Letter
    | Open Access

    The effect of blackbody radiation is expected to be very weak. The acceleration due to the attractive optical forces from blackbody radiation is measured in an atom interferometer and, surprisingly, it dominates gravity and radiation pressure

    • Philipp Haslinger
    • , Matt Jaffe
    •  & Holger Müller

  • Editorial |

    The 2017 Nobel prize in Physics has been awarded to Rainer Weiss, Barry C. Barish and Kip S. Thorne “for decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves”.

  • Editorial |

    The sky map presented by the Dark Energy Survey showcases the power of images to reach scientists and the wider public alike.

  • News & Views |

    The Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen type of quantum entanglement can be used to improve the sensitivity of laser interferometer gravitational-wave detectors beyond the quantum limit.

    • Raffaele Flaminio

  • Commentary |

    That we now live in the grip of post-factualism would seem naturally repellent to most physicists. But in championing theory without demanding empirical evidence, we're guilty of ignoring the facts ourselves.

    • Sabine Hossenfelder

  • Review Article |

    Dark matter could decay into conventional particles leaving behind specific signatures in the gamma rays and cosmic rays. Astronomical observations are used to search for these elusive dark matter footprints.

    • Jan Conrad
    •  & Olaf Reimer

  • News & Views |

    The spectroscopic observations of the very early stages of a supernova provide a glimpse into its environment prior to the explosion.

    • Norbert Langer

  • Research Highlights |

    • Iulia Georgescu

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