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Research facility · Wellington · New Zealand

Carter Observatory

In research, Carter Observatory stands highest in Physical Sciences (#15,356 of 17,446 worldwide), over all time.

museumswellington.org.nz/space-placeROR OpenAlex
World rank, all time
#32,877
of 34,923
Rank in New Zealand
#104
of 104
Research works
216
▲ 22% vs 2018-21
Citations
2.7k
12.5 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
2.9%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
0.86×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
49%
world 40%
International
32%
world 18%
Carter Observatory

What is Carter 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 #15,356 of 17,446 3.6%198

Each strip is that field's whole ranked pool, with the notch where Carter 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 average mark, because the average differs by field (from about 6% in Dentistry to 21% in Economics).

Which fields of science does Carter Observatory work in?

In all years, 92% of research at Carter Observatory is in Physical Sciences, 6% in Social Sciences. Its largest fields are Physics and Astronomy (43%), Earth and Planetary Sciences (29%), Engineering (9%). It does 2.2× the world's share of Physical Sciences.

Physical Sciences: 198 fractional works · 91.6% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 93 fractional works · 43.1% of its workAstronomy and Astrophysics: 67 fractional works · 31.1% of its workInstrumentation: 16 fractional works · 7.2% of its workStatistical and Nonlinear Physics: 4 fractional works · 1.8% of its workAtomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics: 3 fractional works · 1.5% of its workNuclear and High Energy Physics: 3 fractional works · 1.4% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 62 fractional works · 28.8% of its workGeophysics: 56 fractional works · 25.8% of its workAtmospheric Science: 2 fractional works · 1.1% of its workGeology: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workOceanography: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workPaleontology: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workGeochemistry and Petrology: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEngineering: 20 fractional works · 9.2% of its workComputational Mechanics: 8 fractional works · 3.6% of its workAerospace Engineering: 4 fractional works · 1.8% of its workCivil and Structural Engineering: 3 fractional works · 1.3% of its workBiomedical Engineering: 2 fractional works · 0.8% of its workOcean Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workMechanics of Materials: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMechanical Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workBuilding and Construction: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workElectrical and Electronic Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workControl and Systems Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workComputer Science: 16 fractional works · 7.4% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 15 fractional works · 6.8% of its workHardware and Architecture: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSignal Processing: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEnvironmental Science: 4 fractional works · 2.0% of its workGlobal and Planetary Change: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workManagement, Monitoring, Policy and Law: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workEcology: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workNature and Landscape Conservation: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMathematics: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workDiscrete Mathematics and Combinatorics: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workChemistry: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSpectroscopy: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workChemical Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSocial Sciences: 12 fractional works · 5.6% of its workSocial Sciences: 6 fractional works · 2.7% of its workAnthropology: 2 fractional works · 1.1% of its workSociology and Political Science: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workGeography, Planning and Development: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workEducation: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPolitical Science and International Relations: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workArts and Humanities: 5 fractional works · 2.3% of its workHistory and Philosophy of Science: 3 fractional works · 1.5% of its workArcheology: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEconomics and Econometrics: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPsychology: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workDecision Sciences: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workLife Sciences: 4 fractional works · 1.9% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 2 fractional works · 0.9% of its workMolecular Biology: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workGenetics: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 2 fractional works · 0.9% of its workPlant Science: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workHealth Sciences: 2 fractional works · 1.0% of its workMedicine: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workEpidemiology: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPulmonary and Respiratory Medicine: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workHealth Professions: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEmergency Medical Services: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workALL ITS WORKCarterObservatory216fractional works, all years
Life Sciences2%Physical Sciences92%Health Sciences1%Social Sciences6%

Each ring splits the one inside it: the four domains of science, their fields, their subfields. Size is fractional works in all years. Every slice is a page; the interactive view zooms down to single topics and colours each by how much more of it this institution does than the world.

Its 4 domains and 19 fields, with their numbers
    1. Physics and Astronomy9343.1%
    2. Earth and Planetary Sciences6228.8%
    3. Engineering209.2%
    4. Computer Science167.4%
    5. Environmental Science42.0%
    6. Mathematics10.5%
    7. Chemistry10.3%
    8. Chemical Engineering00.2%
    1. Social Sciences62.7%
    2. Arts and Humanities52.3%
    3. Economics, Econometrics and Finance10.3%
    4. Psychology00.2%
    5. Business, Management and Accounting00.1%
    6. Decision Sciences00.1%
    1. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology20.9%
    2. Agricultural and Biological Sciences20.9%
    3. Immunology and Microbiology00.1%
    1. Medicine10.7%
    2. Health Professions10.3%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

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: 0.84× its world share, 0 worksAgricultural and Bio…Immunology and Microbiology: 2.66× its world share, 0 worksImmunology and Micro…Earth and Planetary Sciences: 0.17× its world share, 0 worksEarth and Planetary …Engineering: 0.28× its world share, 0 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.10× its world share, 0 worksEnvironmental SciencePhysics and Astronomy: 30.11× its world share, 3 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 1.52× its world share, 0 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.28× its world share, 0 worksMedicineDecision Sciences: 4.15× its world share, 0 worksDecision SciencesPsychology: 1.32× its world share, 0 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.32× its world share, 0 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 30.1×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 11 fields, with their numbers
  1. Physics and Astronomy30.11×3 works
  2. Decision Sciences4.15×0 works
  3. Immunology and Microbiology2.66×0 works
  4. Health Professions1.52×0 works
  5. Psychology1.32×0 works
  6. Agricultural and Biological Sciences0.84×0 works
  7. Social Sciences0.32×0 works
  8. Engineering0.28×0 works
  9. Medicine0.28×0 works
  10. Earth and Planetary Sciences0.17×0 works
  11. Environmental Science0.10×0 works

Who are the top researchers at Carter Observatory?

Ranked on the quality score, G. W. Christie, M. J. Randall and Michael D. Rhodes lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Carter Observatory.

  1. 1 G. W. Christie New Zealand · #765,846 worldwide 4.3k citations · 92 works
  2. 2 M. J. Randall New Zealand · #1,794,494 worldwide 1.6k citations · 35 works
  3. 3 Michael D. Rhodes New Zealand · #1,811,743 worldwide 3.5k citations · 65 works
  4. 4 Marc Bos New Zealand · #2,594,407 worldwide 1.2k citations · 26 works
  5. 5 M. C. Forbes New Zealand · #3,409,462 worldwide 138 citations · 25 works
  6. 6 Albert F. Jones New Zealand · #4,015,813 worldwide 473 citations · 47 works
  7. 7 J. B. Priestley New Zealand · #4,057,835 worldwide 501 citations · 158 works
  8. 8 Malcolm Lowry New Zealand · #4,113,123 worldwide 369 citations · 47 works
  9. 9 G. A. Eiby New Zealand · #4,340,865 worldwide 556 citations · 43 works
  10. 10 G. L. Blow New Zealand · #4,427,018 worldwide 200 citations · 25 works
All ranked researchers at Carter Observatory

What are the most cited papers from Carter Observatory?

The most cited paper from Carter Observatory is "Spectral Irradiance Calibration in the Infrared. X. A Self-Consistent Radiometric All-Sky Network of Absolutely Calibrated Stellar Spectra" (Martin Cohen, Russell G. Walker, Brian Scott Carter et al., 1999), with 542 citations. Next come "Real-time difference imaging analysis of MOA Galactic bulge observations during 2000" (539) and "Long-term changes in tropospheric ozone" (378).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Spectral Irradiance Calibration in the Infrared. X. A Self-Consistent Radiometric All-Sky Network of Absolutely Calibrated Stellar Spectra Martin Cohen, Russell G. Walker, Brian Scott Carter et al. · The Astronomical Journal Open access Apr 1999 542
2 Real-time difference imaging analysis of MOA Galactic bulge observations during 2000 I. A. Bond et al. · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Open access Nov 2001 539
3 Long-term changes in tropospheric ozone S. J. Oltmans et al. · Atmospheric Environment 23 Mar 2006 378
4 Discovery of a Jupiter/Saturn Analog with Gravitational Microlensing B. S. Gaudi et al. · Science Open access 14 Feb 2008 366
5 FREQUENCY OF SOLAR-LIKE SYSTEMS AND OF ICE AND GAS GIANTS BEYOND THE SNOW LINE FROM HIGH-MAGNIFICATION MICROLENSING EVENTS IN 2005-2008 Andrew P. Gould et al. · The Astrophysical Journal Open access148 authors 17 Aug 2010 357
All 59 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at Carter Observatory?

By fractional works in all years, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Geodetic Measurements, Earthquakes, Subduction, Exoplanets, Stellar Astrophysics, Tomography, Spectroscopy and Astronomical Instrumentation.

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

Size is fractional works in all years 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 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Geodetic Measurements26▲ 96×2 topics
  2. Earthquakes26▲ 151×1 topic
  3. Subduction26▲ 116×1 topic
  4. Exoplanets20▲ 124×1 topic
  5. Stellar Astrophysics20▲ 124×1 topic
  6. Tomography17▲ 29×3 topics
  7. Spectroscopy17▲ 24×4 topics
  8. Astronomical Instrumentation16▲ 140×1 topic
  9. Spectrograph16▲ 140×1 topic
  10. Star Formation14▲ 73×2 topics
  11. Radio Astronomy14▲ 175×2 topics
  12. High-Resolution Imaging14▲ 104×2 topics
  13. Machine Learning14▲ 2.9×4 topics
  14. Solar Observations14▲ 323×1 topic
  15. Transits of Venus14▲ 323×1 topic
  16. Earthquake Detection13▲ 303×1 topic
  17. Seismic Signals13▲ 303×1 topic
  18. Plate Tectonics11▲ 24×3 topics
  19. Accretion Disks11▲ 64×2 topics
  20. Magnetic Fields11▲ 50×2 topics
  21. Seismic Noise10▲ 95×1 topic
  22. Surface Wave10▲ 95×1 topic
  23. Turbulence9▲ 30×2 topics
  24. Molecular Clouds9▲ 87×1 topic
  25. Protoplanetary Disks9▲ 87×1 topic
  26. Ionospheric Anomalies9▲ 113×1 topic
  27. Seismic Electromagnetics9▲ 113×1 topic
  28. Structural Health Monitoring8▲ 36×2 topics
  29. Optical 3D Laser Measurement8▲ 182×1 topic
  30. Position-Sensitive Detector8▲ 182×1 topic
  31. Black Holes8▲ 24×2 topics
  32. Crystal Structure Prediction7▲ 40×1 topic
  33. Mantle Dynamics7▲ 40×1 topic
  34. Solar System Abundances6▲ 32×1 topic
  35. Terrestrial Planets6▲ 32×1 topic
  36. Cosmology6▲ 27×2 topics
  37. Dark Matter6▲ 13×2 topics
  38. Galaxies5▲ 57×1 topic
  39. Stellar Populations5▲ 57×1 topic
  40. Historical Astronomy5▲ 109×2 topics

Which research topics does Carter Observatory publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies, Astronomy and Astrophysical Research, Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies and Facilities and Workplace Management.

Stellar, planetary, and …1Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies: 1 fractional worksAstronomy and Astrophysical Research: 1 fractional worksAstrophysics and Star Formation Studies: 1 fractional worksFacilities and Workplace Management: 0 fractional worksGamma-ray bursts and supernovae: 0 fractional worksEducational Leadership and Practices: 0 fractional worksSustainable Building Design and Assessment: 0 fractional worksFood Waste Reduction and Sustainability: 0 fractional worksFood Security and Health in Diverse Populations: 0 fractional worksAstrophysical Phenomena and Observations: 0 fractional works
Astronomy and AstrophysicsInstrumentationSocial PsychologyEducation3 others

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

  1. 1 Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies Astronomy and Astrophysics 1 works
  2. 2 Astronomy and Astrophysical Research Instrumentation 1 works
  3. 3 Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies Astronomy and Astrophysics 1 works
  4. 4 Facilities and Workplace Management Social Psychology 0 works
  5. 5 Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae Astronomy and Astrophysics 0 works
  6. 6 Educational Leadership and Practices Education 0 works
  7. 7 Sustainable Building Design and Assessment Building and Construction 0 works
  8. 8 Food Waste Reduction and Sustainability Food Science 0 works
  9. 9 Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations General Health Professions 0 works
  10. 10 Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations Astronomy and Astrophysics 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 available49.2%not open50.8%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors31.5%domestic only68.5%

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has Carter Observatory's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 22% higher than in 2018-2021.

still counting1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

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

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Carter Observatory as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.000010% in 2024.

still counting0.0020%0.0040%Carter Observatory0.0000071% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Carter Observatory over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

Other research institutions in Wellington

All research institutions in Wellington

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Carter Observatory on Science Explorer

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Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners have tabs of their own, above.

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