Nature AstronomyPub Date : 2026-04-14DOI: 10.1038/s41550-026-02834-5
Dominik Koll, Jenny Feige, Johannes Lachner, Anton Wallner
{"title":"No indication of a strong increase in galactic cosmic ray intensity 2–3 Myr ago from cosmogenic nuclides","authors":"Dominik Koll, Jenny Feige, Johannes Lachner, Anton Wallner","doi":"10.1038/s41550-026-02834-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-026-02834-5","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":18778,"journal":{"name":"Nature Astronomy","volume":"2 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147685130","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature AstronomyPub Date : 2026-04-14DOI: 10.1038/s41550-026-02835-4
Merav Opher, Abraham Loeb, J. E. Peek, Jesse Miller, Jennifer Middleton, Anna Nica
{"title":"Reply to: No indication of a strong increase in galactic cosmic ray intensity 2–3 Myr ago from cosmogenic nuclides","authors":"Merav Opher, Abraham Loeb, J. E. Peek, Jesse Miller, Jennifer Middleton, Anna Nica","doi":"10.1038/s41550-026-02835-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-026-02835-4","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":18778,"journal":{"name":"Nature Astronomy","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147685134","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature AstronomyPub Date : 2026-04-13DOI: 10.1038/s41550-026-02843-4
Hiroki Karyu, Takeshi Kuroda, Anni Määttänen, Arnaud Mahieux, Sébastien Viscardy, Naoki Terada, Séverine Robert, Ann Carine Vandaele, Michel Crucifix
{"title":"A cosmic origin of Venus’ lower haze","authors":"Hiroki Karyu, Takeshi Kuroda, Anni Määttänen, Arnaud Mahieux, Sébastien Viscardy, Naoki Terada, Séverine Robert, Ann Carine Vandaele, Michel Crucifix","doi":"10.1038/s41550-026-02843-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-026-02843-4","url":null,"abstract":"Entry probes have revealed a layer containing involatile submicrometre particles—the lower haze—between Venus’ surface and the main cloud deck. However, its origin is still unclear, and atmospheric models have mostly treated it as a lower boundary condition, despite the known role of its particles as condensation nuclei when they are transported to the main cloud deck. Here we incorporate a self-consistent particle formation framework into a Venus cloud microphysics model and show that the continuous influx of cosmic dust is sufficient to sustain this lower haze layer with the particle size distribution observed by the entry probes. These haze particles of cosmic origin act as efficient condensation nuclei, promoting cloud formation in the main cloud deck even far from their initial source. Furthermore, these particles are enriched in metallic species, specifically magnesium and iron; the latter represents a plausible source for the planet’s long-unidentified ultraviolet absorber. Collectively, our findings establish cosmic dust as an essential component of Venus’ climate. These insights are also crucial for understanding the climates of planets with thick atmospheres, such as gas giants and exoplanets, where accumulating cosmic dust can similarly affect the cloud structure and composition.","PeriodicalId":18778,"journal":{"name":"Nature Astronomy","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147685137","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature AstronomyPub Date : 2026-04-13DOI: 10.1038/s41550-026-02839-0
The LHAASO Collaboration
{"title":"An extreme particle accelerator powered by pulsar PSR J1849−0001","authors":"The LHAASO Collaboration","doi":"10.1038/s41550-026-02839-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-026-02839-0","url":null,"abstract":"Pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) are bubbles of relativistic particles, powered by the rotational energy loss of the central pulsars. The Crab Nebula, powered by the Milky Way’s most energetic pulsar, was discovered by the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) as a PeV gamma-ray emitter, thereby establishing it as an extreme particle accelerator along with multiwavelength observations. Here we report LHAASO’s detection of a point-like ultrahigh-energy (UHE, photon energy E > 100 TeV) gamma-ray source associated with the PWN powered by PSR J1849-0001, a pulsar of spindown power 50 times lower than the Crab pulsar. The measured gamma-ray spectrum extends to PeV energies following a power-law distribution, with the PeV luminosity a few times higher than that of the Crab Nebula. Combined X-ray observations constrain the average magnetic field within the source to about 3 μG, and reveal an extreme particle acceleration efficiency approaching or even exceeding unity in the PWN, which we refer to as the ‘Aquila Booster’. The result challenges the particle acceleration theory in PWN and implies non-ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) conditions within the accelerator, potentially involving magnetic reconnection upstream of the termination shock.","PeriodicalId":18778,"journal":{"name":"Nature Astronomy","volume":"235 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147685133","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature AstronomyPub Date : 2026-04-10DOI: 10.1038/s41550-026-02838-1
George Miley
{"title":"The magic of radio astronomy","authors":"George Miley","doi":"10.1038/s41550-026-02838-1","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41550-026-02838-1","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":18778,"journal":{"name":"Nature Astronomy","volume":"10 4","pages":"475-476"},"PeriodicalIF":14.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147733262","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature AstronomyPub Date : 2026-04-08DOI: 10.1038/s41550-026-02836-3
Qingdong Wu, Na Wang, Jianping Yuan, Guoliang Lü, Di Li, Pei Wang, Weiwei Zhu, Richard N. Manchester, Shuangqiang Wang, Chenchen Miao, Mengyao Xue, Chunhua Zhu, Dongxiang Shen, Wenming Yan, Zhigang Wen, Kejia Lee, Chengmin Zhang, Jumei Yao, Rai Yuen, Jingbo Wang, De Zhao, Feifei Kou, Shengnan Sun, Jiarui Niu
{"title":"Stringent tests of spin-up theories posed by a millisecond pulsar with an extreme spin-down rate","authors":"Qingdong Wu, Na Wang, Jianping Yuan, Guoliang Lü, Di Li, Pei Wang, Weiwei Zhu, Richard N. Manchester, Shuangqiang Wang, Chenchen Miao, Mengyao Xue, Chunhua Zhu, Dongxiang Shen, Wenming Yan, Zhigang Wen, Kejia Lee, Chengmin Zhang, Jumei Yao, Rai Yuen, Jingbo Wang, De Zhao, Feifei Kou, Shengnan Sun, Jiarui Niu","doi":"10.1038/s41550-026-02836-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-026-02836-3","url":null,"abstract":"Binary millisecond pulsar systems are superb probes of stellar, binary evolution and the physics of extreme environments. The location of millisecond pulsars relative to the ‘spin-up line’ in the spin period and spin-down rate (P–Ṗ) diagram plays a critical role in understanding population studies of radio millisecond pulsars and accreting neutron stars in X-ray binaries. Here we report the discovery of the pulsar PSR J0435+3233, which exhibits an exceptionally high spin-down rate of 4.8775101(2) × 10−17 s s−1—two orders of magnitude higher than that of other known millisecond pulsars, thus occupying a distinctive position in the P–Ṗ diagram. This discovery implies a formation channel that differs from the classical evolutionary path, challenging the theoretical models of the recycling process and placing stringent constraints on spin-up theories. One plausible scenario is that its progenitor was a neutron star undergoing super-Eddington accretion, with the currently observed pulsar being a remnant of such a system. Another possible mechanism is its formation through the accretion-induced collapse of a magnetized ONeMg white dwarf, although this scenario requires specific theoretical assumptions. Hence, PSR J0435+3233 has an important impact on binary evolution theory.","PeriodicalId":18778,"journal":{"name":"Nature Astronomy","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147631114","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature AstronomyPub Date : 2026-04-07DOI: 10.1038/s41550-026-02813-w
Erini Lambrides, Rebecca L. Larson, Kristen Garofali, Andrew Ptak, Marco Chiaberge, Arianna S. Long, Taylor A. Hutchison, Colin Norman, Jed McKinney, Hollis B. Akins, Danielle A. Berg, John Chisholm, Francesca Civano, Aidan P. Cloonan, Ryan Endsley, Andreas L. Faisst, Roberto Gilli, Steven Gillman, Michaela Hirschmann, Jeyhan S. Kartaltepe, Dale D. Kocevski, Vasily Kokorev, Fabio Pacucci, Chris T. Richardson, Massimo Stiavelli, Kelly E. Whalen
{"title":"The case for super-Eddington accretion in JWST broad-line active galactic nuclei during the first billion years","authors":"Erini Lambrides, Rebecca L. Larson, Kristen Garofali, Andrew Ptak, Marco Chiaberge, Arianna S. Long, Taylor A. Hutchison, Colin Norman, Jed McKinney, Hollis B. Akins, Danielle A. Berg, John Chisholm, Francesca Civano, Aidan P. Cloonan, Ryan Endsley, Andreas L. Faisst, Roberto Gilli, Steven Gillman, Michaela Hirschmann, Jeyhan S. Kartaltepe, Dale D. Kocevski, Vasily Kokorev, Fabio Pacucci, Chris T. Richardson, Massimo Stiavelli, Kelly E. Whalen","doi":"10.1038/s41550-026-02813-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-026-02813-w","url":null,"abstract":"A multitude of studies of data recorded by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) reveal a surprising overabundance of over-massive accreting supermassive black holes, leading to a deepening tension between theory and observation for the first billion years of cosmic time. Across X-ray to infrared wavelengths, models built on pre-JWST predictions fail to easily reproduce the observed signatures of active galactic nuclei (or lack thereof), driving uncertainty around the true nature of these sources. Here, using a sample of JWST active galactic nuclei identified via their broadened Hα emission and covered by the deepest X-ray surveys, we find neither any measurable X-ray emission nor any detection of high-ionization emission lines frequently associated with accreting supermassive black holes. We propose that these sources are accreting at or beyond the Eddington limit, which reduces the need for the efficient production of heavy supermassive black hole seeds at cosmic dawn. Using a theoretical model of super-Eddington accretion, we can produce the observed relative dearth of both X-ray and ultraviolet emission, as well as the high Balmer decrements, without the need for substantial dust attenuation. This work indicates that super-Eddington accretion is easily achieved throughout the early Universe, and further study is required to determine what environments are required to trigger this mode of black hole growth.","PeriodicalId":18778,"journal":{"name":"Nature Astronomy","volume":"18 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147631117","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature AstronomyPub Date : 2026-04-07DOI: 10.1038/s41550-026-02822-9
Oded Aharonson, Paul O. Hayne, Norbert Schörghofer
{"title":"Observational constraints on the history of lunar polar ice accumulation","authors":"Oded Aharonson, Paul O. Hayne, Norbert Schörghofer","doi":"10.1038/s41550-026-02822-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-026-02822-9","url":null,"abstract":"Ice deposits at the lunar poles are concentrated within permanently shadowed regions where water molecules are thermally stable. The geographic distribution of the deposits has been predicted and observed. However, the timing of their formation remains poorly constrained. Owing to the gradual decrease in the lunar obliquity with time, the cold-trapping regions have expanded monotonically since the passage of the Moon through the Cassini state transition ~4 Gyr ago. Here, using reflected ultraviolet starlight, we show with observations from the Lyman-Alpha Mapping Project that there is a strong correlation between the exposed-ice fraction and the age of the permanent shadow within which it resides. A model of water delivery, burial and loss predicts such a correlation if these processes operate on timescales that are comparable with the ages of the permanently shadowed regions. The exposed-ice area ratio of ~3.4% in the youngest permanently shadowed regions aged ~100 Myr favours models with high proportional loss rates. The results indicate that polar ice has accumulated quasi-continuously at least over the last ~1.5 Gyr rather than from a discrete event.","PeriodicalId":18778,"journal":{"name":"Nature Astronomy","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147631115","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature AstronomyPub Date : 2026-04-03DOI: 10.1038/s41550-026-02806-9
Michaël Gillon, Elsa Ducrot, Taylor J. Bell, Ziyu Huang, Andrew P. Lincowski, Xintong Lyu, Alice Maurel, Alexandre Revol, Eric Agol, Émeline Bolmont, Chuanfei Dong, Thomas J. Fauchez, Daniel D. B. Koll, Jérémy Leconte, Victoria S. Meadows, Franck Selsis, Martin Turbet, Benjamin Charnay, Laetitia Delrez, Brice-Olivier Demory, Aaron Householder, Sebastian Zieba, David Berardo, Achrène Dyrek, Billy Edwards, Julien de Wit, Thomas P. Greene, Renyu Hu, Nicolas Iro, Laura Kreidberg, Pierre-Olivier Lagage, Jacob Lustig-Yaeger, Aishwarya Iyer
{"title":"No thick atmosphere around TRAPPIST-1 b and c from JWST thermal phase curves","authors":"Michaël Gillon, Elsa Ducrot, Taylor J. Bell, Ziyu Huang, Andrew P. Lincowski, Xintong Lyu, Alice Maurel, Alexandre Revol, Eric Agol, Émeline Bolmont, Chuanfei Dong, Thomas J. Fauchez, Daniel D. B. Koll, Jérémy Leconte, Victoria S. Meadows, Franck Selsis, Martin Turbet, Benjamin Charnay, Laetitia Delrez, Brice-Olivier Demory, Aaron Householder, Sebastian Zieba, David Berardo, Achrène Dyrek, Billy Edwards, Julien de Wit, Thomas P. Greene, Renyu Hu, Nicolas Iro, Laura Kreidberg, Pierre-Olivier Lagage, Jacob Lustig-Yaeger, Aishwarya Iyer","doi":"10.1038/s41550-026-02806-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-026-02806-9","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":18778,"journal":{"name":"Nature Astronomy","volume":"438 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147611747","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature AstronomyPub Date : 2026-04-03DOI: 10.1038/s41550-026-02816-7
Alexander P. Ji, Vedant Chandra, Selenna Mejias-Torres, Zhongyuan Zhang, Philipp Eitner, Kevin C. Schlaufman, Hillary Diane Andales, Ha Do, Natalie M. Orrantia, Rithika Tudmilla, Pierre N. Thibodeaux, Keivan G. Stassun, Madeline Howell, Jamie Tayar, Maria Bergemann, Andrew R. Casey, Jennifer A. Johnson, Joleen K. Carlberg, William Cerny, José G. Fernández-Trincado, Keith Hawkins, Juna A. Kollmeier, Chervin F. P. Laporte, Guilherme Limberg, Tadafumi Matsuno, Szabolcs Mészáros, Sean Morrison, David L. Nidever, Guy S. Stringfellow, Donald P. Schneider, Riley Thai
{"title":"A nearly pristine star from the Large Magellanic Cloud","authors":"Alexander P. Ji, Vedant Chandra, Selenna Mejias-Torres, Zhongyuan Zhang, Philipp Eitner, Kevin C. Schlaufman, Hillary Diane Andales, Ha Do, Natalie M. Orrantia, Rithika Tudmilla, Pierre N. Thibodeaux, Keivan G. Stassun, Madeline Howell, Jamie Tayar, Maria Bergemann, Andrew R. Casey, Jennifer A. Johnson, Joleen K. Carlberg, William Cerny, José G. Fernández-Trincado, Keith Hawkins, Juna A. Kollmeier, Chervin F. P. Laporte, Guilherme Limberg, Tadafumi Matsuno, Szabolcs Mészáros, Sean Morrison, David L. Nidever, Guy S. Stringfellow, Donald P. Schneider, Riley Thai","doi":"10.1038/s41550-026-02816-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-026-02816-7","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":18778,"journal":{"name":"Nature Astronomy","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147611749","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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