Nature Astronomy

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 19 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02890-x The American Astronomical Society (AAS) Committee for Sexual-Orientation and Gender Minorities in Astronomy (SGMA) is tasked with supporting the community and promoting scientific accomplishments by queer individuals within the American astronomical community.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 19 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02891-w As part of Pride month, three early-career astronomers and members of the American Astronomical Society Committee for Sexual-Orientation and Gender Minorities in Astronomy (SGMA) share their research and motivation to pursue professional careers in astronomy.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 19 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02871-0 Lunar polar shadows are traditionally seen as ancient cold traps. However, new models of orbital evolution suggest lunar ice archives are surprisingly young, fundamentally altering our search for the Solar System’s volatile history.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 19 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02903-9 The 18 December 2025 Executive Order on Ensuring American Space Superiority identifies private industry as a central driver of scientific innovation in space. Yet by omitting human research protections, the order leaves a substantial gap that should be addressed in future US commercial space policy reform.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 19 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02920-8 Decades of progress in photometric and spectroscopic surveys have led to successful searches for the descendants of the first stars in the nearby Universe, but the first generation itself is still elusive. The prospects for finding them look promising thanks to forthcoming survey facilities, which will open a window …

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 19 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02877-8 The returned samples from asteroids Bennu and Ryugu document a remarkably rich organic inventory, spanning from smaller molecules to complex macromolecular materials. This chemical diversity renews the discussion of how prebiotic complexity on small bodies may relate to the processes leading to the emergence of life.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 18 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02886-7 A new class of Gamma-Loud Protostars reveals that stellar jets drive hadronic particle acceleration. Their gamma-ray emission links mass ejection in young stars to the production of cosmic rays.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 17 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02901-x This workshop examined the rapidly evolving role of language-based artificial intelligence in astronomy, discussing retrieval-augmented generation, agent-based systems, and multimodal models, alongside challenges around evaluation, trust, and responsible deployment.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 17 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02884-9 A gravitationally lensed, obscured starburst galaxy about 11 billion years ago may be associated with a high-energy neutrino. If so, this reveals a new type of cosmic source and opens a window on multi-messenger astronomy at cosmological distances.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 17 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02893-8 Detecting life on ocean worlds necessitates distinguishing biotic from abiotic signals. An Enceladus case study shows that rigorously characterizing the abiotic baseline is essential for evaluating biosignature suitability.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 15 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02841-6 By counting single atoms of 60Fe (which have a supernova origin), 244Pu and 247Cm (both formed via the r-process and independent of regular supernovae) in a deep-sea crust, the last actinide-producing r-process event near Earth is found to have occurred >100 Myr ago.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 11 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02896-5 Reply to: On the tidal response of Titan inferred from Cassini data

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 11 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02895-6 On the tidal response of Titan inferred from Cassini data

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 10 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02888-5 Precise measurements over 60–350 MHz using a new self-calibrating receiver are used to update the standard model of the radio sky. This revision enables accurate modelling of Galactic foreground emission in the SKA era to extract signals from cosmic dawn.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 10 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02900-y We can do more than defend science from a flood of AI-assisted papers. Used well, AI offers a historic opportunity to correct distortions in the publication system, help us publish fewer and better papers, and give scientists back the time to do their best work.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 10 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02887-6 By leveraging a hot exoplanet’s rotation during a transit observed with JWST, the thermal and chemical structure in the planet’s atmosphere was measured. The eastern half of the planet is hotter than western half, driving the dissociation of water.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 09 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02902-w The collective dataset of APOGEE and LAMOST reveals that the Milky Way Galaxy has a U-shaped stellar age profile extending to 20 kpc. Radial migration likely plays a key role in expanding the Galactic disc far beyond its local star formation regime.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 08 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02897-4 Decade-long multiwavelength observations reveal a quasar flickering in infrared and X-rays just 850 million years after the Big Bang. The variability provides direct observational constraints on the structure of accretion disks in early quasars.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 05 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02876-9 Following two major 2025 announcements of possible extraterrestrial life — on exoplanet K2-18 b in April and in the Cheyava Falls rock on Mars in September — we surveyed the astrobiology community to capture the spread of expert opinion. These datasets establish baseline measures of scientific confidence in each case…

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 03 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02885-8 Two unique little red dots exhibit intense X-ray, radio and mid-infrared radiation, and may be transitioning into quasars. In this scenario, little red dots could represent an early evolutionary stage of supermassive black hole growth.