Science Explorer Interactive view Map
Research facility · Cambridge · United States

Harvard College Observatory

In research, Harvard College Observatory stands highest in Physical Sciences (#2,845 of 21,541 worldwide), Social Sciences (#5,600 of 16,945 worldwide) and Physics and Astronomy (#1,611 of 3,663 worldwide), over all time.

cfa.harvard.edu/hcoROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#9,371
of 28,054 · #3,876 all time
Rank in United States
#1,249
of 4,192
Research works
1.1k
▲ 43% vs 2013–17
Citations
29k
25.4 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
18.6%
record average 16.5%
Open access
33%
world 28%

What is Harvard College 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 #2,845 of 21,541 26.7%801
Social SciencesDomain #5,600 of 16,945 16.9%170
Physics and AstronomyField #1,611 of 3,663 26.8%485
Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield #521 of 1,146 26.4%299
EngineeringField #5,431 of 11,412 27.3%140

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

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: 0.76× its world share, 4 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 2.11× its world share, 2 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.74× its world share, 3 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.42× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.35× its world share, 0 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.14× its world share, 0 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.57× its world share, 5 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.19× its world share, 0 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.32× its world share, 1 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.46× its world share, 8 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.40× its world share, 2 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.05× its world share, 0 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.09× its world share, 1 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.57× its world share, 1 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 1.07× its world share, 1 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.40× its world share, 4 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.89× its world share, 19 worksMedicineNursing: 0.12× its world share, 0 worksNursingVeterinary: 3.22× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 2.65× its world share, 8 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.78× its world share, 3 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.40× its world share, 2 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 4.26× its world share, 10 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.57× its world share, 5 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.00× its world share, 28 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Economics, Econometrics and Finance, 4.3×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Harvard College Observatory?

Ranked on the composite score, David Layzer, Simon Newcomb and J. A. Ball lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Harvard College Observatory.

  1. 1 David Layzer United States · #45,461 worldwide 318 citations · 42 works
  2. 2 Simon Newcomb United States · #283,395 worldwide 77 citations · 68 works
  3. 3 J. A. Ball United States · #346,969 worldwide 78 citations · 23 works
  4. 4 Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin United States · #359,598 worldwide 59 citations · 33 works
  5. 5 Donald H. Menzel United States · #435,970 worldwide 173 citations · 79 works
  6. 6 W. M. Smart United States · #558,088 worldwide 15 citations · 23 works
  7. 7 A. E. Lilley United States · #636,925 worldwide 103 citations · 16 works
  8. 8 A. L. Cortie United States · #681,757 worldwide 3 citations · 28 works
  9. 9 E. M. Reeves United States · #692,406 worldwide 85 citations · 22 works
  10. 10 T. E. Sterne United States · #718,031 worldwide 49 citations · 19 works
All ranked researchers at Harvard College Observatory

Which keywords describe research at Harvard College Observatory?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Democracy, Social Justice, Activism, Gender, Public Discourse, Rhetoric, Mental Health and Big Data.

▲ 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. Epidemiology5▲ 1.17×34 topics
  2. Machine Learning5▲ 1.29×18 topics
  3. Social Justice4▲ 7.0×3 topics
  4. Democracy4▲ 11×5 topics
  5. Mental Health4▲ 2.7×17 topics
  6. Activism4▲ 84×2 topics
  7. Gender4▲ 6.4×9 topics
  8. Public Health4▲ 2.2×19 topics
  9. Big Data3▲ 3.4×6 topics
  10. Public Discourse3▲ 142×1 topic
  11. Rhetoric3▲ 28×1 topic
  12. Human Rights3▲ 2.9×13 topics
  13. Identity3▲ 3.8×8 topics
  14. Culture2▲ 4.0×3 topics
  15. Colonialism2▲ 3.9×4 topics
  16. Health Disparities2▲ 7.0×5 topics
  17. Migration2▲ 5.5×3 topics
  18. Religion2▲ 3.9×4 topics
  19. Social Movements2▲ 6.1×3 topics
  20. Acculturation2▲ 23×2 topics
  21. Labor Market2▲ 6.0×5 topics
  22. Gender Differences2▲ 4.4×8 topics
  23. Nationalism2▲ 3.6×6 topics
  24. Health Equity2▲ 5.6×4 topics
  25. Politics2▲ 5.8×3 topics
  26. Youth2▲ 11×2 topics
  27. Discrimination2▲ 7.3×3 topics
  28. Income Inequality2▲ 10.0×4 topics
  29. Neighborhood Effects2▲ 13×3 topics
  30. Academic Achievement2▲ 8.4×5 topics
  31. Health Inequities1▲ 24×2 topics
  32. Protest1▲ 33×2 topics
  33. Solidarity1▲ 46×2 topics
  34. 1960s1▲ 113×1 topic
  35. Clinical Practice1▲ 8.0×2 topics
  36. Community1▲ 11×2 topics
  37. Global1▲ 35×1 topic
  38. Implicit Bias1▲ 27×2 topics
  39. Market Efficiency1▲ 18×2 topics
  40. Race1▲ 11×2 topics

Which research topics does Harvard College Observatory publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Rhetoric and Communication Studies, Communism, Protests, Social Movements, Racial and Ethnic Identity Research and Latin American and Latino Studies.

Rhetoric and Communicati…3Rhetoric and Communication Studies: 3 fractional worksCommunism, Protests, Social Movements: 1 fractional worksRacial and Ethnic Identity Research: 1 fractional worksLatin American and Latino Studies: 1 fractional worksAfrican history and culture analysis: 1 fractional worksInsurance, Mortality, Demography, Risk Management: 1 fractional worksIndian History and Philo…1Indian History and Philosophy: 1 fractional worksEthics and Social Impact…1Ethics and Social Impacts of AI: 1 fractional worksComputational and Text A…1Computational and Text Analysis Methods: 1 fractional worksCorporate Finance and Go…1Corporate Finance and Governance: 1 fractional works
PhilosophySociology and Political ScienceCultural StudiesPolitical Science and International Relations4 others

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

  1. 1 Rhetoric and Communication Studies Philosophy 3 works
  2. 2 Communism, Protests, Social Movements Sociology and Political Science 1 works
  3. 3 Racial and Ethnic Identity Research Sociology and Political Science 1 works
  4. 4 Latin American and Latino Studies Cultural Studies 1 works
  5. 5 African history and culture analysis Political Science and International Relations 1 works
  6. 6 Insurance, Mortality, Demography, Risk Management Demography 1 works
  7. 7 Indian History and Philosophy Philosophy 1 works
  8. 8 Ethics and Social Impacts of AI Safety Research 1 works
  9. 9 Computational and Text Analysis Methods General Social Sciences 1 works
  10. 10 Corporate Finance and Governance Accounting 1 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 available32.8%not open67.2%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors9.7%domestic only90.3%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Harvard College Observatory's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 43% 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 Cambridge

All research institutions in Cambridge

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.