Nature Astronomy, Published online: 29 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02969-5The formation process of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at very low metallicity is uncertain. The detection of PAHs in a 7% solar metallicity galaxy, along with emission from compact clumps and small grain sizes, helps elucidate the mechanisms at play.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 29 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02993-5The discovery of an unusually metal-poor galaxy overdensity that may preserve the chemical fingerprints of the first stars in the Universe provides a new way to investigate how the earliest stellar generations formed.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 28 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02979-3New observations provide a more robust observational test of tidal torque theory while revealing an unexpected puzzle for galaxy formation.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 28 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02989-1Modern observatories such as JWST and ALMA are revealing dynamically mature galaxies early in cosmic history. A century after Hubble, galaxy morphology is becoming a probe of galaxy-formation physics, including gas accretion, star formation and feedback.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 25 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02977-5The jury is out as to whether dark energy is best described by a cosmological constant or as dynamical. This Perspective presents both sides of the case and considers the questions that need to be addressed going forward.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 25 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02984-6Volatile depletion in rocky planets records their formation history. Earth and Mars grew through different hybrid pathways of pebble and planetesimal accretion, providing a new way to interpret the diversity of rocky planets beyond the Solar System.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 24 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02975-7LHAASO observations reveal ultrahigh-energy γ-rays from nearby giant molecular clouds, identifying these clouds as natural laboratories for mapping cosmic rays across the Milky Way.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 24 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02988-2Deep JWST spectra of three galaxies seen within the Universe’s first 700 million years allow the detection of blueshifted, chemically enriched gas, providing evidence that baryon cycling began very early.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 22 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02991-7The next generation of astronomy facilities cannot be built with half the sky missing

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 18 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02976-6Iron meteorite chemistry reveals that the earliest outer Solar System planetesimals contained far less primitive dust than later-formed bodies, establishing that aerodynamic sorting shaped planetary building blocks from the onset of planet formation.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 17 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02951-1By observing disrupted stars, Goodwin and Mummery show that supermassive black holes launch outflows at the same critical accretion rates as stellar-mass black holes, pointing to a universal, mass-independent jet-launching mechanism.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 17 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02981-9China’s FAST telescope joins forces with the USA’s JVLA to reveal 118 superbubbles in the Andromeda galaxy. Traversing thousands of light years, these giant structures were expanded by supernovae, which are driving galactic turbulence.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 16 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02987-3The discovery of little red dots with JWST has prompted manifold investigations into their observational properties and physical nature. This Focus issue consolidates our knowledge of these distant objects at a time when firm conclusions are beginning to be drawn.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 16 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02966-8JWST is revealing distant, faint black holes in the early Universe with surprising properties and host-galaxy relationships. These discoveries challenge existing models of supermassive black hole growth and highlight key questions for future research.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 11 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02930-6Is the Universe infinite in all directions? The only way to know is to look. This Review presents the status of investigations into the topology of the Universe, and looks ahead to upcoming opportunities.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 10 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02915-5Using simulations of the neutron star population, this study finds that Galactic supernova rates are higher than expected and that magnetars may represent nearly half of all neutron stars, making them capable of powering some of the Universe’s most energetic events.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 09 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02959-7Hypersoft X-ray sources are found in an observational blind spot; they can be extremely luminous in the X-ray band and extreme ultraviolet, and are likely to be X-ray binary systems. Their energetics suggest that they play a crucial role in ionizing galaxies.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 08 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02970-yHeliobiology is a new interdisciplinary field that links heliophysics, astrophysics, planetary science and chemistry with an astrobiological focus. We propose a formal definition of heliobiology and a practical framework for its implementation.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 08 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02952-0Images reveal where planetary surfaces change, whereas seismic and ground-motion records can show when and why. Treating seismometers as environmental sensors, alongside cameras, meteorological packages and orbital repeat imaging, would make active surfaces a central target of future missions.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 08 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02914-6BepiColombo’s flyby at just 165 km from Mercury observed sustained precipitation of energetic solar protons and electrons onto the planet’s surface, with potentially long-term impact on its weathering and mineralogy.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 08 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02957-9Analysis of fast radio bursts reveals how gas ejected by astrophysical feedback suppresses small-scale cosmic structure, delivering constraints competitive with X-ray and microwave surveys. Future rapid gains are expected from facilities such as the Deep Synoptic Array.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 07 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02973-9Evidence for phenylium reactivity under interstellar-relevant conditions

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 07 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02971-xOn our bookshelf

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 07 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02967-7The “Little Red Dots 2026” online workshop brought together 33 invited speakers, 19 flash talks and in total 230 participants. The workshop was dedicated to the discussion of these newly discovered compact red objects in the early Universe and their physical nature.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 07 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02972-wReply to: Evidence for phenylium reactivity under interstellar-relevant conditions

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 07 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02958-8At IAU Symposium 405 in Brno, Czech Republic, the Galactic Centre emerged as a nearby laboratory for galactic nuclei, which links the central supermassive black hole, dense stellar populations and multiphase gas into a connected ecosystem across space and time.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 07 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02953-zMulti-epoch ALMA and VLA observations reveal the three-dimensional orbital motion of a massive protobinary. The orbits are highly eccentric and close to parabolic, with strong disk–orbit misalignment, suggesting a core-merger pathway for massive binary formation.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 04 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02934-2Little red dots (LRDs) are a new class of object uncovered by deep JWST surveys at high redshift. This Perspective summarizes our current observational understanding of LRDs and considers possible scenarios for their central engines.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 01 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02965-9Spectroscopy from over 2.5 million galaxies shows that the Universe has retained most of its atomic hydrogen over the past 4.5 billion years even as star formation fell sharply, pointing to inefficient gas conversion rather than depletion of the atomic gas reservoir.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 31 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02954-yThe use of agentic large language models obviates human interpretation of scientific results, and will lead to substantial distrust in the literature.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 28 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02968-6Simulations show that a single oblique impact can explain two of the most defining features of the smallest Martian moon — Deimos. The results suggest that one collision carved the moon’s south-polar depression and blanketed its surface in regolith, while revealing an interior structure much like that of recently visited asteroids.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 27 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02962-yAnalysis of asteroid Ryugu samples reveals ammonium-rich clays and other nitrogen compounds linked to sodium salts, suggesting late-stage brines in Ryugu’s progenitor preserved reactive nitrogen that could have supported prebiotic chemistry.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 26 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02980-wPaul Hewett, pioneer of data science from wide-field digital astronomical surveys and expert in quasar demographics, died on 4 June 2026.

JWST observations reveal extended host galaxies around little red dots at rest-frame optical wavelengths, shedding light on how early black holes grew together with their host galaxies within the first billion years.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 24 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02945-zJWST observations reveal extended host galaxies around little red dots at rest-frame optical wavelengths, shedding light on how early black holes grew together with their host galaxies within the first billion years.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 21 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02947-xJWST observations reveal that distant massive galaxies contain far more small stars than expected, increasing their masses by a factor of up to four compared with initial measurements. This finding suggests that early massive galaxies might be heavier than previously found, challenging galaxy formation models.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 20 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02955-xModelling shows that large collisions with the icy moons of the giant planets do not affect drastically the occurrence of subsurface oceans inside reassembled icy moons throughout their history. They solely affect ocean thickness or longevity.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 19 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02964-wLeading AI models can reach gold-medal performance on advanced astronomy and astrophysics exams, but still struggle with spatial reasoning, visual data analysis and conceptual errors.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 18 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02932-4JWST spectra show that distant massive galaxies contain far more low-mass stars than expected, quadrupling the overall galaxy mass and challenging galaxy formation models.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 18 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02956-wSimulations show that the large depression at the south pole of the Martian moon Deimos formed in an oblique impact that also smoothed its surface, revealing a very weak surface over a porous, fractured, rubble-pile-like interior.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 17 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02931-5By studying the dynamical properties, age and metallicity of globular clusters in the inner Galaxy, the authors found evidence of a massive dwarf galaxy that was accreted by the Milky Way 1.8 billion years earlier than the Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus merger.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 14 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02961-zA hidden companion on Orion’s shoulder

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 14 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02960-0No kinematics, no problem

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 14 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02963-xWhile conferences offer researchers excellent opportunities to present their latest results and network with others, they offer editors the chance to consolidate their knowledge and follow important developments within a field.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 14 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02949-9The first all-African space exploration mission, Africa2Moon, is to be launched to the lunar south pole with Chang’e-8, scheduled for 2029.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 14 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02942-2Astro-tourism offers opportunities to SKA locals

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 14 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02944-0Astro-tourism programmes have emerged across the world as a form of scientific engagement. The Carnarvon Astro Guides initiative in the Karoo, South Africa, is one of them, aiming to connect the large-scale astronomical infrastructure (including the SKA) to local socio-economic development.

Nature Astronomy, Published online: 14 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02946-yThe cost-effective CosmoCube mission is proposed to observe the 21-cm line emitted by neutral hydrogen from the relatively uncontaminated radio environment of the far side of the Moon.