Astronomy and planetary science articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    How and via which mechanism the energy transfers between scales in imbalanced Alfvénic turbulence is an open question. Here, the authors show that the energy transfer of imbalanced Alfvénic turbulence is completed by coherent interactions between Alfvén waves and co-propagating anomalous fluctuations.

    • Liping Yang
    • , Jiansen He
    •  & Ziqi Wu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    At high pressures, water and ammonia are known to exhibit superionic states. Here it is shown that many planetary ices (H-C-N-O compounds) exhibit a superionic state, and in some cases, a doubly superionic state, in which multiple elements diffuse simultaneously.

    • Kyla de Villa
    • , Felipe González-Cataldo
    •  & Burkhard Militzer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Gamma-ray observations indicate that cosmic voids may host magnetic fields. Here, the authors show that relics of fields from the early Universe could be consistent with these observations if their decay is mediated by magnetic reconnection and conserves the mean square fluctuation level of magnetic helicity.

    • David N. Hosking
    •  & Alexander A. Schekochihin

  • Comment
    | Open Access

    The exploration of our solar system is being radically changed since the beginning of operations of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) in mid 2022. JWST’s extraordinary sensitivity and instrumentation allow for sensitive searches for the building blocks of life and to test for habitability, also enabling new discoveries on small bodies to giant planets across our solar system and beyond.

    • G. L. Villanueva
    •  & S. N. Milam

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Atomic oxygen is important for the photochemistry and energy balance of Venus’s atmosphere, but it was not directly observed on the dayside of Venus. Here, the authors show direct detection of atomic oxygen on the both dayside and nightside of Venus by measuring its ground-state transition at 4.74 THz.

    • Heinz-Wilhelm Hübers
    • , Heiko Richter
    •  & Helmut Wiesemeyer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    How solar wind and ionosphere contribution to the plasma in the magnetosphere during the development of geomagnetic storms changes is an open question. Here, the authors show a dynamic source change during a storm from solar wind to the ionosphere as the storm develops.

    • L. M. Kistler
    • , K. Asamura
    •  & I. Shinohara

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mars lacks a global intrinsic magnetic field. Here, the authors show wedge-like dispersion structures of Hydrogen ions exhibiting butterfly-shaped distributions, which was previously found only in intrinsic magnetospheres.

    • Chi Zhang
    • , Hans Nilsson
    •  & Stas Barabash

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Models predict that giant planets should easily form around solar-type stars, but most radial velocity surveys found a rather low number of them. Here, the authors show that Jupiter-like planets may be more common than previously found, at least in low density environments.

    • Raffaele Gratton
    • , Dino Mesa
    •  & Elisabetta Rigliaco

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Axions are hypothetical particles that constitute leading candidates for the identity of dark matter. Here, the authors improve previous exclusion bounds on axion-like particles in the range of 1.4–200 peV, and report direct terrestrial limits on the coupling of protons and neutrons with axion-like dark matter.

    • Itay M. Bloch
    • , Roy Shaham
    •  & Or Katz

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Polarization of decayless kink oscillations of solar coronal loops provide unique information about involved excitation mechanisms and energy supply, but its detection remains elusive. Here, the authors show horizontal and weakly oblique linear polarization of such oscillations, which favors the energy supply by quasi-steady flows.

    • Sihui Zhong
    • , Valery M. Nakariakov
    •  & David Berghmans

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The homogeneity of Aluminium-26 (Al-26) isotope distribution in the accreting solar nebula is debated. Here, the authors show that the age determination of meteorite Erg Chech 002, compared with other igneous meteorites, indicates that Al-26 was heterogeneously distributed in the early Solar System.

    • Evgenii Krestianinov
    • , Yuri Amelin
    •  & Tommaso Di Rocco

  • Article
    | Open Access

    It is interesting and important to understand how the properties of nuclei and their stability change with temperature. Here the authors report their theoretical study of hot nuclei and the drip lines that limit the nuclear existence at finite temperature.

    • Ante Ravlić
    • , Esra Yüksel
    •  & Nils Paar

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Solid helium is predicted to become a metal at extraordinarily high pressures of 25 TPa. Here, the authors predict that helium becomes an excitonic insulator just below the metallization pressure, and a superconductor just above the metallization pressure.

    • Cong Liu
    • , Ion Errea
    •  & Claudio Cazorla

  • Article
    | Open Access

    BepiColombo mission had its first Mercury flyby on 1 October 2021. Here, the authors show plasma measurements taken during this flyby, which reveals that electron injections and subsequent energy-dependent drift is a universal mechanism generating aurorae in the planetary magnetospheres.

    • Sae Aizawa
    • , Yuki Harada
    •  & Go Murakami

  • Article
    | Open Access

    This study investigates the role of water in the lower-most stratosphere, affecting dynamics of the stratosphere and troposphere, and shows that common water vapor transport schemes can cause biases, present in nearly all modern climate models.

    • Edward Charlesworth
    • , Felix Plöger
    •  & Martin Riese

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Excess of l-amino acids in meteorites suggests an extraterrestrial origin of biomolecular homochirality, which may stem from chiral light-matter interactions. Here the authors support this hypothesis with asymmetric photolysis experiments on racemic isovaline films, showing that circularly polarized starlight can produce l-enantiomeric excesses that can be amplified during parent bodies’ alteration.

    • Jana Bocková
    • , Nykola C. Jones
    •  & Cornelia Meinert

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Although whistler-mode chorus waves are common in the Earth’s and other planetary magnetospheres, the mechanism behind fast frequency chirping is debated. Here, the authors show the presence of chorus emissions at Mars, with fundamentally the same nonlinear nature as those at Earth, despite vastly different magnetic and plasma conditions.

    • Shangchun Teng
    • , Yifan Wu
    •  & Xin Tao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Long-term space missions to the Moon and Mars rely on sunlight as an energy source. Here, authors assess the performance of monolithic photoelectrochemical devices for light-assisted O2 and fuel production on the Moon and Mars as potential complementary technologies to existing life support systems.

    • Byron Ross
    • , Sophia Haussener
    •  & Katharina Brinkert

  • Comment
    | Open Access

    The samples returned from near-Earth asteroid (162173) Ryugu provide a pristine record of the 4.6 billion years since the birth of the Solar System. The Hayabusa2 initial analysis team has integrated a range of analytical techniques to investigate Ryugu’s organic chemistry. Here, we highlight their latest findings, the potential questions which may be answered, and provide an overview of new prospects in the decade to come.

    • Yasuhiro Oba
    • , Yoshinori Takano
    •  & Hiroshi Naraoka

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Blue Stragglers Stars (BSSs) are anomalously luminous main sequence stars in clusters. Here, the authors show evidence that the fraction of fast rotating BSSs increases for decreasing central density of the host system, suggesting fast spinning BSSs prefer low-density environments.

    • Francesco R. Ferraro
    • , Alessio Mucciarelli
    •  & Mario Mateo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability (KHI) has been suggested as a significant source of geomagnetic activity during northward Interplanetary Magnetic Fields (IMF). Here, the authors show seasonal and diurnal variations of KHI at Earth’s magnetopause, highlighting the importance of Sun-earth geometry for space weather.

    • S. Kavosi
    • , J. Raeder
    •  & C. J. Farrugia

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The origin of the diffuse gamma-ray background (DGRB) is unknown. Here, the authors show that the integrated gamma-ray flux from clusters can contribute up to 100% of the DGRB flux observed by Fermi-LAT above 100 GeV.

    • Saqib Hussain
    • , Rafael Alves Batista
    •  & Klaus Dolag

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Low stellar ultraviolet (UV) radiation leads to low ozone abundances, therefore, less planetary UV protection. Here, the authors show that planets in the habitable zones of metal-poor stars, despite their higher UV radiation than metal-rich stars, are the best targets for search for life.

    • Anna V. Shapiro
    • , Christoph Brühl
    •  & Jos Lelieveld

  • Comment
    | Open Access

    A long-standing issue in astrobiology is whether planets orbiting the most abundant type of stars, M-dwarfs, can support liquid water and eventually life. A new study shows that subglacial melting may provide an answer, significantly extending the habitability region, in particular around M-dwarf stars, which are also the most promising for biosignature detection with the present and near-future technology.

    • Amri Wandel

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Kinetic Alfven Waves (KAWs) are ubiquitous in space plasmas. Here, the authors show that application of particle sounding technique to Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission data enables measuring perpendicular wavelength of KAWs.

    • Z.-Y. Liu
    • , Q.-G. Zong
    •  & G. Le

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Uracil was identified in the sample returned from the asteroid Ryugu. Having been provided to the early Earth as a component in such asteroidal materials, these molecules might have played a role for prebiotic chemical evolution on the early Earth

    • Yasuhiro Oba
    • , Toshiki Koga
    •  & Yuichi Tsuda

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Nanobowls represent building blocks of fullerenes and nanotubes as detected in combustion systems and deep space, but their formation mechanisms in these environments have remained elusive. Here, the authors explore the gas-phase formation of benzocorannulene and beyond to the C40 nanobowl.

    • Lotefa B. Tuli
    • , Shane J. Goettl
    •  & Ralf I. Kaiser

  • Comment
    | Open Access

    NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission intentionally impacted the asteroid Dimorphos on September 26, 2022, and this kinetic impact changed Dimorphos’ orbit around its binary companion Didymos. This first planetary defense test explored technological readiness for this method of asteroid deflection.

    • Andrew S. Rivkin
    •  & Andrew F. Cheng

  • Comment
    | Open Access

    Searching for evidence of life on Mars is a major impetus for exploration. A new study published in Nature Communications finds that current Mars mission instruments lack the essential sensitivity to identify life traces in Chilean desert samples that strongly resemble the martian area currently under study by NASA’s Perseverance rover.

    • Carol R. Stoker

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The origins of the pair of X-ray bubbles, called eROSITA bubbles (eRBs), detected in the halo of Milky Way are debated. Here, the authors show hydrodynamical simulations suggesting circumgalactic medium wind model can explain asymmetric eRBs.

    • Guobin Mou
    • , Dongze Sun
    •  & Zhicheng He

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Scattering by the upper- and lower-band chorus waves are the dominant cause of diffuse auroral precipitation. Here, the authors show that the lower-band chorus alone satisfies the preferred condition for the generation of second harmonics to trigger the diffuse auroral electron precipitation.

    • Xiongdong Yu
    • , Zhigang Yuan
    •  & H. O. Funsten

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The abundances of small Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) observed in interstellar clouds has surprised astronomers and confounded astrochemical models. Here, the authors show that fast radiative cooling by Recurrent Fluorescence efficiently stabilizes the small PAH cation 1-cyanonaphthalene.

    • Mark H. Stockett
    • , James N. Bull
    •  & Boxing Zhu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Magnetized plasmas display continuous spectra of current-sheet equilibria. How they select a particular equilibrium is not well understood. Now, equilibrium selection in magnetized plasmas is studied by analytical theory, particle-in-cell simulations and spacecraft observations, highlighting the role of current-sheet relaxation processes.

    • Young Dae Yoon
    • , Deirdre E. Wendel
    •  & Gunsu S. Yun

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Red giant stars enter the clump phase as the helium in the cores start fusing. Here, the authors show evidence for large core structural discontinuities in 7% of Kepler satellite clump star data implying that the mixing region beyond the convective core boundary has a radiative thermal stratification.

    • Mathieu Vrard
    • , Margarida S. Cunha
    •  & Benoît Mosser

  • Article
    | Open Access

    One of the possible events signaling a neutrinoless double beta decay is a Xe atom decaying into a Ba ion and two electrons. Aiming at the realisation of a detector for such a process, the authors show that Ba ions can be efficiently trapped (chelated) in vacuum by an organic molecule layer on a surface.

    • P. Herrero-Gómez
    • , J. P. Calupitan
    •  & J. T. White

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Dust devils are common on Mars and understanding their dynamics is important to gain insights about the meteorology of the planet. Here, the authors show characteristics of a Martian dust devil and its sound from Perseverance rover multi-sensor data combined with modelling.

    • N. Murdoch
    • , A. E. Stott
    •  & D. Mimoun

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