Editorials

Before its demise, the Dawn spacecraft performed a series of low passes over the bright spots of dwarf planet Ceres. These high-resolution data highlight the nature of Ceres as an active ocean world with unique characteristics.

The practice of peer review has only become commonplace fairly recently, and as such is continually undergoing revision. The latest progress has focused on reducing the load on those performing this community service and also reducing bias to ensure a fairer system for all.

On the anniversary of ROSAT’s launch, we reflect on the relevance and promise of X-ray observations in all fields of astronomy. Properly laying out a plan for the future of the field will allow it to continue flourishing.

We are living in exceptional circumstances. It is not business as usual. There is no script, and where we end up after the global pandemic is partly up to us.

The Spitzer Space Telescope recently ceased operations, powering down its remaining detector after more than a decade and a half of revealing the infrared Universe. Its legacy will be continued by far more expensive missions that will have big boots to fill.

Staff across 74 UK universities are striking because pay and working conditions are eroding, and changes to the pension scheme mean that workers fear they are paying in more money for fewer benefits without good reason. More clarity is needed.

The recent suite of ground and space observatories bring solar physics into the twenty-first century. Solar Orbiter, due to launch this month, will observe the polar regions from up close, which is essential for understanding the magnetic field of the Sun.

Planets and their systems have long held the spotlight, but researchers, space agencies and even the private sector and the public have turned their attention to small bodies.

Diversity of thought and perspective fosters innovation and productivity. Equity is an ethical imperative. There is plenty of scope to improve both diversity and equity in our field and this issue’s Focus puts the spotlight on actions today for a more inclusive tomorrow.

As Nature turns 150, we look back on its close connection to the Nobel Prize in Physics and some of the most epoch-defining papers in astronomy.

What’s in a name? Would a super-Earth by any other name smell as sweet? It should, but maybe it wouldn’t get as many clicks.

Nature Astronomy is uniquely positioned to publish a variety of excellent scientific research alongside commentary, opinion and editorial content on the topics that matter most to the astronomy and planetary science communities. We are committed to promoting diversity in peer review and the voices we feature.

With a growing coverage of the night sky, the quantity and quality of transient event detections is booming. In this issue, our Focus looks particularly at observations of different types of supernovae and the need for a classification scheme that can systematically accommodate the diversity of stellar explosions and progenitors.

We publish in this issue our first Matters Arising, a new way for Nature Research journals to host a sound and peer-reviewed debate driven by the community on a stimulating (and maybe polarizing) topic presented in a published paper.

Renewed investment in lunar exploration (and beyond) will benefit basic research and applied science, but we need to tread carefully in order to prevent the exploitation of extraterrestrial resources.

The stunning picture of a black hole shadow that was released by the Event Horizon Telescope highlights the power of collaborative projects, as no single person, telescope or nation could have captured such an image.

NASA’s spacecraft OSIRIS-REx is planning to bring back a sample from a near-Earth asteroid in 2023, and it has just delivered its first scientific results. It is only one of the projects from various space agencies that will put small bodies and sample return into the spotlight in the upcoming decade.

Since the field’s inception, the study of active galactic nuclei has been central to extragalactic astronomy. The plurality of ways in which these objects can be observed and their numerous links to other fields of astronomy maintain their continued relevance.

The International Astronomical Union celebrates its centenary this year, with a membership that is increasing in diversity and working towards inclusion.

Black holes have the distinct honour of being the most popular and potentially the least well-understood objects in the Universe. This issue’s Insight explores how far black hole research has come since its inception, though it still has a long way to go.