Nature Astronomy, Published online: 14 September 2023; doi:10.1038/s41550-023-02074-x Carbon atoms are one of the most abundant chemical species in the earliest stages of star formation. They had been thought to be immobile on the surface of interstellar ice, but laboratory

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 14 September 2023; doi:10.1038/s41550-023-02057-y Measurements of the redshifted 21 cm line of neutral hydrogen could be a powerful tool for precision cosmology, constraining fundamental parameters and probing the cosmological dark ages. However, practical challenges must first be

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 14 September 2023; doi:10.1038/s41550-023-02065-y An ethical approach to research in extreme environments can lay the foundations for future space exploration that respects ecologies, is founded on authentic partnerships and supports co-learning from diverse communities of non-scientists.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 14 September 2023; doi:10.1038/s41550-023-02076-9 Han, Conroy and Hernquist propose a solution to an old problem: the origin of the warp in the Galactic disk. Adopting a dark halo model that is tilted with respect to the

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 14 September 2023; doi:10.1038/s41550-023-02055-0 In our Solar System, whistler-mode chorus waves had been confirmed for all magnetized planets except Mercury. Finally, the first and second Mercury flybys in 2021 and 2022 by the BepiColombo/Mio spacecraft revealed

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 14 September 2023; doi:10.1038/s41550-023-02071-0 The interstellar chemistry of carbon atoms is crucial to chemical complexity in the Universe. This experimental work suggests that C-atom reactions on interstellar ice surfaces contribute to C–C bond formation and chemical