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Research facility · Santiago · Chile

European Southern Observatory

In research, European Southern Observatory stands highest in Physical Sciences (#4,393 of 12,888 worldwide), Astronomy and Astrophysics (#212 of 443 worldwide) and Physics and Astronomy (#1,216 of 1,646 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Physics and Astronomy and Physical Sciences — Astronomy and Astrophysics is 119.9× its share of world research.

eso.org/sci/activities/santiago.htmlROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#7,917
of 28,054 · #4,360 all time
Rank in Chile
#32
of 107
Research works
1.5k
▲ 7% vs 2013–17
Citations
51k
34.0 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
29.0%
record average 16.5%
Open access
75%
world 28%

What is European Southern Observatory known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022–2025, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Physical SciencesDomain #4,393 of 12,888 29.1%111 #2655
Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield #212 of 443 33.3%70 #199
Physics and AstronomyField #1,216 of 1,646 30.7%92 #1091

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where European Southern 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).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022–2025. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Physical Sciences#2,655 #4,393
  2. Astronomy and Astrophysics#199 #212
  3. Physics and Astronomy#1,091 #1,216
all time2022–2025, better2022–2025, worse

A dot further right is a better standing. Fields it was not ranked in over the whole record are left out.

What does European Southern Observatory specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Astronomy and Astrophysics takes 119.9× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield · 69.9 works120×
  2. Physics and AstronomyField · 92.3 works37×
  3. Physical SciencesDomain · 110.6 works2.5×
← 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: 0.04× its world share, 0 worksAgricultural and Bio…Neuroscience: 0.06× its world share, 0 worksNeuroscienceChemical Engineering: 0.11× its world share, 0 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 1.62× its world share, 3 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.20× its world share, 2 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.19× its world share, 2 worksEarth and Planetary …Engineering: 0.55× its world share, 9 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.37× its world share, 2 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.05× its world share, 0 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.06× its world share, 0 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 36.97× its world share, 92 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 0.13× its world share, 0 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.04× its world share, 1 worksMedicineArts and Humanities: 0.01× its world share, 0 worksArts and HumanitiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.01× its world share, 0 worksEconomics, Econometr…Social Sciences: 0.02× 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, 37.0×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at European Southern Observatory?

Ranked on the composite score, D. Naef, J. P. Anderson and M. Sterzik lead among researchers whose main affiliation is European Southern Observatory.

  1. 1 D. Naef Chile · #171,085 worldwide 198 citations · 33 works
  2. 2 J. P. Anderson Chile · #186,535 worldwide 663 citations · 150 works
  3. 3 M. Sterzik Chile · #385,475 worldwide 264 citations · 83 works
  4. 4 W. J. de Wit Chile · #400,133 worldwide 193 citations · 37 works
  5. 5 G. K. T. Hau Chile · #427,298 worldwide 189 citations · 37 works
  6. 6 C. Ledoux Chile · #433,692 worldwide 340 citations · 78 works
  7. 7 C. Melo Chile · #478,584 worldwide 276 citations · 81 works
  8. 8 T. Szeifert Chile · #518,491 worldwide 79 citations · 16 works
  9. 9 D. Alloin Chile · #581,043 worldwide 205 citations · 77 works
  10. 10 F. Stoehr Chile · #605,183 worldwide 70 citations · 30 works
All ranked researchers at European Southern Observatory

Which keywords describe research at European Southern Observatory?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Star Formation, Accretion Disks, Magnetic Fields, Exoplanets, Stellar Astrophysics, Black Holes, Astronomical Instrumentation and Spectrograph.

▲ 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 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. Star Formation23▲ 392×2 topics
  2. Accretion Disks20▲ 383×2 topics
  3. Exoplanets20▲ 446×1 topic
  4. Magnetic Fields20▲ 277×2 topics
  5. Stellar Astrophysics20▲ 446×1 topic
  6. Black Holes15▲ 141×3 topics
  7. Astronomical Instrumentation14▲ 503×1 topic
  8. Spectrograph14▲ 503×1 topic
  9. Molecular Clouds14▲ 503×1 topic
  10. Protoplanetary Disks14▲ 503×1 topic
  11. Dark Matter9▲ 71×4 topics
  12. Cosmology9▲ 121×2 topics
  13. Galaxies9▲ 291×1 topic
  14. Stellar Populations9▲ 291×1 topic
  15. Gravitational Waves7▲ 116×2 topics
  16. Supernovae6▲ 69×2 topics
  17. Solar System Abundances6▲ 113×1 topic
  18. Terrestrial Planets6▲ 113×1 topic
  19. Nucleosynthesis6▲ 112×3 topics
  20. Galactic Center6▲ 118×2 topics
  21. Event Horizon Telescope6▲ 244×1 topic
  22. Gamma-Ray Bursts6▲ 198×1 topic
  23. Neutron Stars6▲ 198×1 topic
  24. X-Ray Astronomy6▲ 244×1 topic
  25. Radio Astronomy4▲ 167×2 topics
  26. Spectroscopy3▲ 16×3 topics
  27. Adaptive Optics3▲ 204×1 topic
  28. Wavefront Sensing3▲ 204×1 topic
  29. Cosmic Rays3▲ 48×2 topics
  30. High-Energy Astrophysics3▲ 89×1 topic
  31. Neutrinos3▲ 48×2 topics
  32. Particle Acceleration3▲ 89×1 topic
  33. High-Resolution Imaging3▲ 49×1 topic
  34. Transits of Venus3▲ 247×1 topic
  35. Optical 3D Laser Measurement2▲ 180×1 topic
  36. Position-Sensitive Detector2▲ 180×1 topic
  37. Epoch of Reionization2▲ 109×1 topic
  38. Hydrogen Bonds2▲ 165×2 topics
  39. Low-Frequency Telescopes2▲ 109×1 topic
  40. Equation of State2▲ 24×2 topics

Which research topics does European Southern Observatory publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies, Astronomy and Astrophysical Research, Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies and Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena.

Stellar, planetary, and …20Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies: 20 fractional worksAstronomy and Astrophysical Research: 14 fractional worksAstrophysics and Star Formation Studies: 14 fractional worksGalaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena: 9 fractional worksAstro and Planetary Science: 6 fractional worksGamma-ray bursts and sup…6Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae: 6 fractional worksAstrophysical Phenomena and Observations: 6 fractional worksAdaptive optics and wavefront sensing: 3 fractional worksAstrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena: 3 fractional worksHistory and Developments in Astronomy: 3 fractional works
Astronomy and AstrophysicsInstrumentationAtomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsNuclear and High Energy Physics

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

  1. 1 Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies Astronomy and Astrophysics 20 works
  2. 2 Astronomy and Astrophysical Research Instrumentation 14 works
  3. 3 Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies Astronomy and Astrophysics 14 works
  4. 4 Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena Astronomy and Astrophysics 9 works
  5. 5 Astro and Planetary Science Astronomy and Astrophysics 6 works
  6. 6 Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae Astronomy and Astrophysics 6 works
  7. 7 Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations Astronomy and Astrophysics 6 works
  8. 8 Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics 3 works
  9. 9 Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena Nuclear and High Energy Physics 3 works
  10. 10 History and Developments in Astronomy Astronomy and Astrophysics 3 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 available75.3%not open24.7%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors70.6%domestic only29.4%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has European Southern Observatory's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 7% higher 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 Santiago

All research institutions in Santiago

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.