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Simulations show that the competing effects of the solar wind and planetary rotation can explain the structure of planetary aurorae: the former dominates for Earth-type and the latter for Jupiter-type aurorae, with the highly variable aurorae at Saturn representing a transition state.
A survey of astronomy and geophysics professionals has revealed prevalent bullying and harassment within the sector, with women and marginalized groups most likely to suffer. It is time for the community to face up to the issue and discuss ways of tackling it.
The SPECULOOS project detected an Earth-sized planet in a short orbit around a nearby Jupiter-sized star. This planet, SPECULOOS-3 b, is one of the most promising rocky exoplanets for detailed emission spectroscopy characterization with JWST.
Precise mass and radius measurements of giant planet WASP-193 b find an extremely low density of 0.059 ± 0.014 g cm−3. Current evolutionary models cannot fully explain such a low density, but the extended atmosphere makes WASP-193 b very suitable for high-precision characterization via JWST.
A pathway towards the formation of pyridine and (iso)quinoline, precursors to DNA and RNA, is revealed for conditions appropriate to Saturn’s moon Titan and the Taurus molecular cloud, providing insight into the synthesis of prebiotic molecules in space.
V1298 Tau b is a 20–30-Myr-old Jovian-sized planet with a haze-free, metal-poor atmosphere and a potentially hot interior. These properties suggest that V1298 Tau b formed in situ via pebble accretion and that it is still evolving and likely to become a Neptune- or sub-Neptune-sized planet.
An updated Jeans parameter that includes tidal forces can distinguish the various driving forces, both exogenous and endogenous, of atmospheric escape from low-mass close-in exoplanets. Depending on its value, escape can be dominated by tidal forces, extreme ultraviolet stellar radiation or a combination of the two.
Decametre radio observations are challenging due to the presence of the ionosphere. Here Groeneveld et al. present a strategy to correct for the ionosphere that allows them to make sharp decametre radio images from the ground with the LOFAR telescope.
Phase-curve observations of the ‘hot Jupiter’ exoplanet WASP-43b, made at mid-infrared wavelengths using JWST, provide evidence that fast winds limit the formation of methane on the cooler, cloudy nightside of the planet.
Phase-resolved mid-infrared observations from JWST of the hot gas giant WASP-43b detect a day–night difference of 659 ± 19 K. Comparison with climate models shows that the observations are compatible with cloudy skies, at least on the nightside, and the lack of methane detection suggests the presence of disequilibrium chemistry.
Cassini tracking data yield a lower Love number for Titan than previous analysis. This result is compatible with a low-density internal ocean that might consist of a mix of water and ammonia.
As the eighth anniversary of Nature Astronomy’s opening to submissions nears, we say goodbye to our inaugural Chief Editor, May Chiao, and welcome her successor, Paul Woods, to the helm.
Computer simulations based on the prevailing cosmological model, ΛCDM, reproduce many observed properties of our Universe. But a study of coherent satellite motions in galaxy clusters yields discrepancies that challenge the definition of ‘today’.