This "Behind the paper" Commentary refers to the recently accepted paper for publication in Nature-Astronomy: "Direct observation of turbulent magnetic reconnection in the solar wind" by Rongsheng Wang et al.( 2022 ).

The mass of the central compact object in supernova remnant HESS J1731-347 estimated using modelling of its X-ray spectrum turns out to be almost too low

NASA's brand new X-ray polarimetry mission IXPE reveals spin-orbital misalignment and surprisingly low polarization for the accreting pulsar Her X-1

The limits of our knowledge on light–matter interactions will affect the exploration of exoplanetary atmospheres. Accounting for these limits will prevent biased claims. Guided improvements will ensure maximum return on investment from the next-generation observatories, including the JWST.

Identifying energy transfer processes from macroscales down to microscales in collisionless plasmas is an indispensable step towards a complete understanding of various space and astrophysical systems. Here we demonstrate with observations that cross-scale wave-ion interactions are a candidate.