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Research facility · Sydney · Australia

Australian Astronomical Observatory

In research, Australian Astronomical Observatory stands highest in Physical Sciences (#2,294 of 21,541 worldwide), Astronomy and Astrophysics (#283 of 1,146 worldwide) and Physics and Astronomy (#947 of 3,663 worldwide), over all time. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Physical Sciences — Physical Sciences is 2.3× its share of world research.

aao.gov.auROR OpenAlex
World rank, all time
#3,476
of 42,892
Rank in Australia
#89
of 656
Research works
1.2k
▼ 49% vs 2013–17
Citations
37k
31.5 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
23.5%
record average 16.5%
Open access
58%
world 28%

What is Australian Astronomical Observatory known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, over all time, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorks
Physical SciencesDomain #2,294 of 21,541 27.9%1,111
Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield #283 of 1,146 29.8%572
Physics and AstronomyField #947 of 3,663 29.8%882
InstrumentationSubfield #80 of 135 32.4%187
EngineeringField #7,445 of 11,412 20.7%144

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Australian Astronomical Observatory sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

What does Australian Astronomical Observatory specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Physical Sciences takes 2.3× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Physical SciencesDomain · 25.4 works2.3×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.10× its world share, 0 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.25× its world share, 0 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Chemistry: 0.71× its world share, 0 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.88× its world share, 2 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.40× its world share, 0 worksEarth and Planetary …Engineering: 0.90× its world share, 4 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.33× its world share, 0 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.16× its world share, 0 worksMaterials SciencePhysics and Astronomy: 29.05× its world share, 18 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 0.58× its world share, 0 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.01× its world share, 0 worksMedicineVeterinary: 0.61× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.40× its world share, 0 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.07× its world share, 0 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 2.41× its world share, 1 worksDecision SciencesPsychology: 0.19× its world share, 0 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.25× its world share, 1 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 29.1×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Australian Astronomical Observatory?

Ranked on the composite score, C. Lidman, Russell Cannon and Andrew Hopkins lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Australian Astronomical Observatory.

  1. 1 C. Lidman Australia · #10,026 worldwide 1.8k citations · 115 works
  2. 2 Russell Cannon Australia · #43,583 worldwide 501 citations · 33 works
  3. 3 Andrew Hopkins Australia · #60,394 worldwide 1.1k citations · 201 works
  4. 4 Keith Taylor Australia · #60,464 worldwide 302 citations · 30 works
  5. 5 Sarah Brough Australia · #100,457 worldwide 475 citations · 77 works
  6. 6 Á. R. López-Sánchez Australia · #196,243 worldwide 309 citations · 61 works
  7. 7 Simon Ellis Australia · #232,991 worldwide 183 citations · 50 works
  8. 8 Q. A. Parker Australia · #266,840 worldwide 658 citations · 154 works
  9. 9 Will Saunders Australia · #277,998 worldwide 160 citations · 29 works
  10. 10 D. F. Malin Australia · #286,112 worldwide 173 citations · 44 works
All ranked researchers at Australian Astronomical Observatory

Which keywords describe research at Australian Astronomical Observatory?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Astronomical Instrumentation, Spectrograph, Star Formation, Black Holes, Dark Matter, Cosmology, Galaxies and Stellar Populations.

▲ more of its work than of the world’s◆ about the world’s share▼ less than the world’s

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 19 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 19 words, with their numbers
  1. Astronomical Instrumentation4▲ 612×1 topic
  2. Spectrograph4▲ 612×1 topic
  3. Star Formation4▲ 280×2 topics
  4. Black Holes4▲ 142×2 topics
  5. Dark Matter4▲ 105×3 topics
  6. Cosmology3▲ 181×2 topics
  7. Galaxies3▲ 426×1 topic
  8. Stellar Populations3▲ 426×1 topic
  9. Exoplanets3▲ 281×1 topic
  10. Stellar Astrophysics3▲ 281×1 topic
  11. Gravitational Waves2▲ 123×2 topics
  12. Supernovae2▲ 83×2 topics
  13. Gamma-Ray Bursts2▲ 220×1 topic
  14. Machine Learning2▲ 1.83×10 topics
  15. Neutron Stars2▲ 220×1 topic
  16. Accretion Disks1▲ 102×2 topics
  17. Magnetic Fields1▲ 74×2 topics
  18. Adaptive Optics1▲ 349×1 topic
  19. Wavefront Sensing1▲ 349×1 topic

Which research topics does Australian Astronomical Observatory publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Astronomy and Astrophysical Research, Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena, Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies and Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae.

Astronomy and Astrophysi…4Astronomy and Astrophysical Research: 4 fractional worksGalaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena: 3 fractional worksStellar, planetary, and galactic studies: 3 fractional worksGamma-ray bursts and sup…2Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae: 2 fractional worksAdaptive optics and wave…1Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing: 1 fractional worksAstrophysics and Star Fo…1Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies: 1 fractional worksAstrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena: 1 fractional worksAstronomical Observations and Instrumentation: 1 fractional worksScientific Computing and Data Management: 1 fractional worksData Mining Algorithms and Applications: 0 fractional works
InstrumentationAstronomy and AstrophysicsAtomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsNuclear and High Energy Physics3 others

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Astronomy and Astrophysical Research Instrumentation 4 works
  2. 2 Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena Astronomy and Astrophysics 3 works
  3. 3 Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies Astronomy and Astrophysics 3 works
  4. 4 Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae Astronomy and Astrophysics 2 works
  5. 5 Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics 1 works
  6. 6 Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies Astronomy and Astrophysics 1 works
  7. 7 Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena Nuclear and High Energy Physics 1 works
  8. 8 Astronomical Observations and Instrumentation Computational Mechanics 1 works
  9. 9 Scientific Computing and Data Management Information Systems and Management 1 works
  10. 10 Data Mining Algorithms and Applications Information Systems 0 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world’s own shares — the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available58.1%not open41.9%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors47.7%domestic only52.3%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Australian Astronomical Observatory's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 49% lower than in 2013–2017.

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Other research institutions in Sydney

All research institutions in Sydney

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners are in the interactive view on the map.