Featured
-
-
News |
‘Best view ever’: observatory will map Big Bang’s afterglow in new detail
The Simons Observatory will search for signs of gravitational waves that originated from the Big Bang.
- Davide Castelvecchi
-
News |
Two giant US telescopes threatened by funding cap
The Thirty Meter Telescope and Giant Magellan Telescope might need to compete for survival in the face of federal spending limits.
- Alexandra Witze
-
Article
| Open Access
The Dimorphos ejecta plume properties revealed by LICIACube
Dimorphos ejecta plume properties were revealed by the observations from the LICIACube cube satellite, which was deployed 15 days in advance of the impact of DART.
- E. Dotto
- , J. D. P. Deshapriya
- & M. Zannoni
-
News |
Giant ‘bubble’ in space could be source of powerful cosmic rays
Scientists have identified a region in the Milky Way capable of accelerating particles to super-high energy levels.
- Gemma Conroy
-
News |
Supernova mystery solved: JWST reveals the fate of an iconic stellar explosion
Decades-long quest ends as the landmark observatory detects signs of the 1987 blast’s central neutron star.
- Alexandra Witze
-
Where I Work |
Building precision instruments to explore the cosmos
Phil Korngut tests NASA’s SPHEREx telescope under extreme conditions at his laboratory in California.
- Rachael Pells
-
News |
This new map of the Universe suggests dark matter shaped the cosmos
The eROSITA telescope’s detailed pictures are among the most precise cosmological measurements ever made.
- Davide Castelvecchi
-
News |
JWST is most in-demand telescope ever — leaving many astronomers in the cold
Reviewers will probably approve only one in every nine research proposals submitted in latest application cycle.
- Rahul Rao
-
News |
‘Sci-fi instrument’ will hunt for giant gravitational waves in space
An experiment has been given the go ahead to send lasers to orbit the Sun to hunt for gigantic ripples in space-time.
- Elizabeth Gibney
-
News |
Black-hole observations solve cosmic-ray mystery
Data from an African observatory show that jets from a collapsed star are capable of producing some of the Galaxy’s fastest particles.
- Davide Castelvecchi
-
Spotlight |
I predict solar storms
Yoshita Baruah says understanding space weather has immediate practical applications for our technology-reliant world.
- Sahana Ghosh
-
News Feature |
The engineer who helped India to reach the Moon
Kalpana Kalahasti had a crucial role in ensuring Chandrayaan-3’s triumphant touchdown on the Moon.
- Jatan Mehta
-
News |
‘Immense relief’: Universe-mapping Euclid telescope fixes problem that threatened mission
The European Space Agency says a software patch restored stability to its new cosmic mapper — but slower operations could extend the mission.
- Davide Castelvecchi
-
News |
Huge new satellite outshines nearly every star in the sky
At times, the enormous telecommunications spacecraft is brighter than some of the most iconic stars visible from Earth.
- Shannon Hall
-
Article
| Open Access
The high optical brightness of the BlueWalker 3 satellite
We report the outcome of an international optical observation campaign of a prototype constellation satellite, AST SpaceMobile’s BlueWalker 3, which features a 64.3 m2 phased-array antenna and a launch vehicle adaptor.
- Sangeetha Nandakumar
- , Siegfried Eggl
- & Mario Soto
-
News |
A new era for Arecibo: legendary observatory begins next phase
The US National Science Foundation announces plan to use the historic site for biology and computer science education.
- Anil Oza
-
News |
China’s powerful new telescope will search for exploding stars
The Wide Field Survey Telescope is the largest facility of its kind in the Northern Hemisphere.
- Gemma Conroy
-
News |
How worlds are born: JWST reveals exotic chemistry of planetary nurseries
The telescope is delivering a cascade of insights about the ‘protoplanetary’ disks where planets take shape.
- Alexandra Witze
-
News Q&A |
UFO sightings: how NASA can bring science to the debate
An astrophysicist who advised the agency talks to Nature about ways to bring rigour to reports of ‘unidentified anomalous phenomena’.
- Alexandra Witze
-
News Explainer |
An ‘alien meteorite’ probably didn’t slam into Earth — how will we know if one does?
Nature looks at the detective work required to confirm a controversial claim of finding interstellar debris.
- Alexandra Witze
-
News Explainer |
India’s first Sun mission will investigate the origins of space weather
Aditya-L1 will join other spacecraft from Europe and the United States in an attempt to understand our stormy star.
- T.V. Padma
-
News |
Japan’s space observatory will measure X-rays in exquisite detail
XRISM’s precision measurements will unveil a Universe in motion.
- Davide Castelvecchi
-
Editorial |
India’s Moon landing is a stellar achievement — and a win for science
When Chandrayaan-3 touched down, India pulled off a huge win for its own space programme and for international efforts to understand the Moon.
-
News |
India lands on the Moon! Scientists celebrate as Chandrayaan-3 touches down
The craft has performed a technically challenging descent at the lunar south pole.
- T. V. Padma
-
News |
Russian Moon lander crash — what happened, and what’s next?
The Luna 25 mission has ended in failure, raising major questions about the future of Russia’s space program.
- Jonathan O'Callaghan
-
News |
Russia launches first Moon mission in half a century: what it means for science
The Luna 25 spacecraft will attempt to land at the lunar south pole for the first time in a hunt for valuable water ice.
- Jonathan O'Callaghan
-
News |
Closing down an icon: will Arecibo Observatory ever do science again?
Although it is slated to become an education centre, astronomers hope research might one day return to the site.
- Anil Oza
-
News |
‘It’s a dream’: JWST spies more black holes than astronomers predicted
The James Webb Space Telescope’s observations could help to answer questions about how the celestial objects formed early in the Universe.
- Alexandra Witze
-
News |
Stunning star nursery is latest JWST image to amaze astronomers
Powerful space telescope reveals star-forming region — image of the week.
-
News |
India shoots for the Moon with Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander
The Moon’s south pole is in India’s sights as the nation prepares to launch a robotic lander and explorer.
- T.V. Padma
-
News |
Euclid launch: dark-energy mapper poised to probe cosmic mysteries
The European craft could help to investigate why the Universe’s expansion is accelerating, along with other cosmic questions.
- Davide Castelvecchi
-
News |
These six distant galaxies captured by JWST are wowing astronomers
See researchers’ favourites from a survey of the deep Universe by the James Webb Space Telescope.
- Alexandra Witze
-
News |
Lasers pierce the stunning dark skies of the Atacama Desert
One of the world’s most advanced telescopes, located in Chile, uses the beams to make artificial stars.
-
News |
JWST spots the most distant ‘smoke’ molecules ever seen in space
The presence of the molecules in an early galaxy means it must have pumped out stars at a furious pace, researchers say.
- Alexandra Witze
-
News |
Gravitational-wave detector LIGO is back — and can now spot more colliding black holes than ever
The twin gravitational-wave detectors have started a new observation run after a major upgrade.
- Davide Castelvecchi
-
Editorial |
In space, failure is an option — often the only one
Space companies should not lose heart when things go wrong. The first Moon missions failed repeatedly — and provided lessons on how to achieve success in space and beyond.
-
News |
What Russia’s continued participation in the ISS means for science
The nation’s pledge to support the International Space Station until 2028 is a relief for international scientists who depend on the station for their research.
- Layal Liverpool
-
News |
Hard feelings over mission change for NASA’s Pluto spacecraft
US space agency plans to shift the New Horizons planetary probe to studying heliophysics, and some scientists don’t agree.
- Alexandra Witze
-
News |
Private ispace Moon landing fails: researchers are investigating
Mission control was unable to re-establish contact with the M1 spacecraft, and early signs suggest it crash-landed on the lunar surface.
- Gemma Conroy
- & Miryam Naddaf
-
News |
Private Moon mission prepares for historic landing attempt
The Japanese-built ispace lander, carrying a rover from the United Arab Emirates, could be the first private venture to land on the lunar surface.
- Miryam Naddaf
-
News |
JWST gets best view yet of planet in hotly pursued star system
Telescope didn’t spot an atmosphere on TRAPPIST-1b, but has kicked off a new era in understanding planetary evolution.
- Alexandra Witze
-
Perspective |
Black holes up close
The current observations and understanding of black holes is reviewed, and the future of the field of black-hole astrophysics is discussed.
- Ramesh Narayan
- & Eliot Quataert
-
News |
Volcanoes on Venus? ‘Striking’ finding hints at modern-day activity
Discovery highlights need for future missions after NASA puts one on hold.
- Myriam Vidal Valero
-
Research Highlight |
SpaceX satellites and others are marring Hubble’s vision
A rising number of images by the famed telescope include satellite trails — a trend that will ultimately affect its science.
-
News |
Europe’s backlog of space missions worsened by rocket woes
Vega C launch failure, tracked to a Ukraine-made part, could further delay a handful of missions.
- Davide Castelvecchi
-
News |
Are telescopes on the Moon doomed before they’ve even been built?
Booming exploration and commercial activity could ruin the quiet environment of the lunar far side.
- Davide Castelvecchi
-
Article
| Open Access
Light curves and colours of the ejecta from Dimorphos after the DART impact
Optical observations of Dimorphos, a satellite of the asteroid 65803 Didymos, before, during and after the impact of the DART spacecraft, from a network of citizen science telescopes across the world are reported.
- Ariel Graykowski
- , Ryan A. Lambert
- & Ian M. Transom
-
News & Views Forum |
JWST opens a window on exoplanet skies
An unprecedented glimpse of a distant planet reveals clues about how it might have formed. Scientists explain why it’s a win for atmospheric chemistry, and celebrate the technology that made it possible.
- Julia V. Seidel
- , Louise D. Nielsen
- & Subhajit Sarkar
-
Nature Podcast |
Amino acid slows nerve damage from diabetes, in mouse study
Experiments show the role that serine may play in a common diabetes complication.
- Nick Petrić Howe
- & Shamini Bundell
‘Milestone’ discovery as JWST confirms atmosphere on an Earth-like exoplanet