News & Comment

Peer review lies at the heart of our journal. Recognizing our reviewers publicly will introduce transparency to the editorial process as well as acknowledge the work of our reviewers.

We celebrate four of the most inspirational role models pushing for diversity among astronomers.

Exoplanetary science is one of the most rapidly developing fields in astronomy and has great near- and medium-term prospects, but various challenges can hinder its growth. The community needs to be prepared to discuss them constructively and openly without spiralling into infighting.

The 2020 US Decadal Survey for Astrophysics is almost here — but in these years of flat cash and major mission delays, how much can we afford to dream?

The relatively dark sky over Africa and the continent’s rich human resources are a boon for the growing development initiatives driven by astronomy.

With moons holding subsurface oceans, the outer planets are back in focus as the most promising places to find life beyond Earth. In addition to future missions, ongoing data analysis from past missions has an important role to play.

In the age of huge telescopes involving many wealthy nations, we mustn’t overlook regional telescopes that help countries address their specific development needs.

The proposed NASA budget promotes space exploration over science, and planetary science over astrophysics. This decision has the potential to cause strife between scientists, who have to work together to find a solution.

Galaxies hosting actively accreting supermassive black holes make up roughly 10% of all galaxies in the Universe. Nevertheless, due to their immense energy output, active galactic nuclei are widely regarded as regulators of their host galaxy growth. But does observational evidence stack up?

More and more private money is pouring into astronomical research and space exploration, and it's not all hype.

As a newcomer to the community, Nature Astronomy covered regional and international scientific and societal issues, discoveries and advances in its first year. We anticipate an equally if not more exciting year to come.