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Research facility · Flagstaff · United States

Lowell Observatory

In research, Lowell Observatory stands highest in Astronomy and Astrophysics (#331 of 954 worldwide), Physical Sciences (#6,598 of 17,446 worldwide) and Physics and Astronomy (#1,191 of 2,917 worldwide), over all time. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Astronomy and Astrophysics and Physics and Astronomy (Astronomy and Astrophysics is 119.2× its share of world research).

lowell.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, all time
#14,835
of 34,923
Rank in United States
#3,055
of 7,310
Research works
928
▼ 36% vs 2018-21
Citations
30k
31.9 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
12.9%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
1.04×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
47%
world 40%
International
21%
world 18%
Lowell Observatory

What is Lowell 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
Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield #331 of 954 15.9%566
Physical SciencesDomain #6,598 of 17,446 14.8%884
Physics and AstronomyField #1,191 of 2,917 15.2%699

Each strip is that field's whole ranked pool, with the notch where Lowell 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 Lowell Observatory work in?

In 2022-now, 94% of research at Lowell Observatory is in Physical Sciences, 5% in Social Sciences. Its largest fields are Physics and Astronomy (77%), Engineering (7%), Earth and Planetary Sciences (4%). It does 2.2× the world's share of Physical Sciences.

Physical Sciences: 51 fractional works · 93.9% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 42 fractional works · 76.8% of its workAstronomy and Astrophysics: 34 fractional works · 61.9% of its workInstrumentation: 5 fractional works · 8.8% of its workAtomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics: 3 fractional works · 4.9% of its workNuclear and High Energy Physics: 0 fractional works · 0.8% of its workStatistical and Nonlinear Physics: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEngineering: 4 fractional works · 7.2% of its workComputational Mechanics: 1 fractional works · 2.4% of its workAerospace Engineering: 1 fractional works · 2.1% of its workElectrical and Electronic Engineering: 1 fractional works · 1.3% of its workBiomedical Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.9% of its workMedia Technology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMechanics of Materials: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 2 fractional works · 3.7% of its workGeophysics: 1 fractional works · 2.0% of its workAtmospheric Science: 1 fractional works · 1.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEnvironmental Science: 2 fractional works · 3.3% of its workEcology: 1 fractional works · 2.4% of its workGlobal and Planetary Change: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEnvironmental Chemistry: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPollution: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workChemistry: 1 fractional works · 2.5% of its workSpectroscopy: 1 fractional works · 1.1% of its workPhysical and Theoretical Chemistry: 0 fractional works · 0.7% of its workOrganic Chemistry: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workComputer Science: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workComputer Vision and Pattern Recognition: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workSocial Sciences: 2 fractional works · 4.6% of its workArts and Humanities: 1 fractional works · 2.4% of its workLiterature and Literary Theory: 1 fractional works · 1.8% of its workHistory and Philosophy of Science: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workPsychology: 0 fractional works · 0.8% of its workSocial Psychology: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workDevelopmental and Educational Psychology: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workDecision Sciences: 0 fractional works · 0.7% of its workInformation Systems and Management: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workSocial Sciences: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workEducation: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workLife Sciences: 1 fractional works · 1.4% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0 fractional works · 0.7% of its workMolecular Biology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workBiophysics: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workEcology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workGeneral Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workNeuroscience: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workHealth Sciences: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workMedicine: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workALL ITS WORKLowellObservatory54fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences1%Physical Sciences94%Health Sciences0%Social Sciences5%

Each ring splits the one inside it: the four domains of science, their fields, their subfields. Size is fractional works in 2022-now. 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 14 fields, with their numbers
    1. Physics and Astronomy4276.8%
    2. Engineering47.2%
    3. Earth and Planetary Sciences23.7%
    4. Environmental Science23.3%
    5. Chemistry12.5%
    6. Computer Science00.4%
    1. Arts and Humanities12.4%
    2. Psychology00.8%
    3. Decision Sciences00.7%
    4. Social Sciences00.6%
    1. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology00.7%
    2. Agricultural and Biological Sciences00.6%
    3. Neuroscience00.1%
    1. Medicine00.1%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

What does Lowell Observatory specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Astronomy and Astrophysics takes 119.2× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield · 33.7 works119×
  2. Physics and AstronomyField · 41.8 works35×
← 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: 0.13× its world share, 0 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.12× its world share, 0 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Neuroscience: 0.08× its world share, 0 worksNeuroscienceChemistry: 1.59× its world share, 1 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.05× its world share, 0 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 2.39× its world share, 2 worksEarth and Planetary …Engineering: 0.48× its world share, 4 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.66× its world share, 2 worksEnvironmental SciencePhysics and Astronomy: 34.56× its world share, 42 worksPhysics and AstronomyMedicine: 0.01× its world share, 0 worksMedicineArts and Humanities: 0.85× its world share, 1 worksArts and HumanitiesDecision Sciences: 0.74× its world share, 0 worksDecision SciencesPsychology: 0.27× its world share, 0 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.05× 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, 34.6×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 14 fields, with their numbers
  1. Physics and Astronomy34.56×42 works
  2. Earth and Planetary Sciences2.39×2 works
  3. Chemistry1.59×1 works
  4. Arts and Humanities0.85×1 works
  5. Decision Sciences0.74×0 works
  6. Environmental Science0.66×2 works
  7. Engineering0.48×4 works
  8. Psychology0.27×0 works
  9. Agricultural and Biological Sciences0.13×0 works
  10. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology0.12×0 works
  11. Neuroscience0.08×0 works
  12. Computer Science0.05×0 works
  13. Social Sciences0.05×0 works
  14. Medicine0.01×0 works

Who are the top researchers at Lowell Observatory?

Ranked on the quality score, Theodore Kareta, Philip Massey and Deidre A. Hunter lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Lowell Observatory.

  1. 1 Theodore Kareta United States · #816,122 worldwide 3.5k citations · 98 works
  2. 2 Philip Massey United States · #990,594 worldwide 13k citations · 435 works
  3. 3 Deidre A. Hunter United States · #1,096,621 worldwide 11k citations · 367 works
  4. 4 Edward W. Dunham United States · #1,119,825 worldwide 21k citations · 284 works
  5. 5 Nicholas Moskovitz United States · #1,141,412 worldwide 4.3k citations · 304 works
  6. 6 W. M. Grundy United States · #1,157,756 worldwide 11k citations · 771 works
  7. 7 Audrey Thirouin United States · #1,657,984 worldwide 2.7k citations · 207 works
  8. 8 Joe Llama United States · #2,309,824 worldwide 754 citations · 98 works
  9. 9 Georgi I. Mandushev United States · #2,341,626 worldwide 2k citations · 68 works
  10. 10 Shih-Yun Tang United States · #2,453,392 worldwide 392 citations · 40 works
All ranked researchers at Lowell Observatory

What are the most cited papers from Lowell Observatory?

The most cited paper from Lowell Observatory is "THE SEVENTH DATA RELEASE OF THE SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY" (Kevork N. Abazajian et al., 2009), with 5,449 citations. Next come "Kepler Planet-Detection Mission: Introduction and First Results" (4,121) and "Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite" (4,102).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 THE SEVENTH DATA RELEASE OF THE SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY Kevork N. Abazajian et al. · The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series Open access204 authors 18 May 2009 5,449
2 Kepler Planet-Detection Mission: Introduction and First Results William J. Borucki et al. · Science 7 Jan 2010 4,121
3 Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite George R. Ricker et al. · Journal of Astronomical Telescopes Instruments and Systems Open access 24 Oct 2014 4,102
4 THE ELEVENTH AND TWELFTH DATA RELEASES OF THE SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY: FINAL DATA FROM SDSS-III Shadab Alam et al. · The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series Open access304 authors 27 Jul 2015 2,476
5 A new extensive library of PHOENIX stellar atmospheres and synthetic spectra Tim-Oliver Husser, S. Berg, S. Dreizler et al. · Astronomy and Astrophysics Open access 23 Mar 2013 1,986
All 59 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at Lowell Observatory?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Exoplanets, Stellar Astrophysics, Solar System Abundances, Terrestrial Planets, Star Formation, Accretion Disks, Magnetic Fields and Molecular Clouds.

▲ 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-now 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 36 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 36 words, with their numbers
  1. Exoplanets10▲ 448×1 topic
  2. Stellar Astrophysics10▲ 448×1 topic
  3. Solar System Abundances8▲ 300×1 topic
  4. Terrestrial Planets8▲ 300×1 topic
  5. Star Formation6▲ 206×2 topics
  6. Accretion Disks5▲ 198×2 topics
  7. Magnetic Fields5▲ 149×2 topics
  8. Molecular Clouds5▲ 340×1 topic
  9. Protoplanetary Disks5▲ 340×1 topic
  10. Mars5▲ 271×1 topic
  11. Martian Surface5▲ 271×1 topic
  12. Astronomical Instrumentation5▲ 270×1 topic
  13. Spectrograph5▲ 270×1 topic
  14. Adaptive Optics2▲ 284×1 topic
  15. Supernovae2▲ 42×2 topics
  16. Wavefront Sensing2▲ 284×1 topic
  17. Black Holes2▲ 32×2 topics
  18. Gravitational Waves2▲ 55×2 topics
  19. Gamma-Ray Bursts2▲ 108×1 topic
  20. Neutron Stars2▲ 108×1 topic
  21. Cosmology1▲ 38×2 topics
  22. Dark Matter1▲ 22×3 topics
  23. Galaxies1▲ 82×1 topic
  24. Stable Isotopes1▲ 82×1 topic
  25. Stellar Populations1▲ 82×1 topic
  26. Trophic Position1▲ 82×1 topic
  27. Coronal Mass Ejections1▲ 59×1 topic
  28. Solar Dynamics Observatory1▲ 59×1 topic
  29. Spectroscopy1▲ 13×3 topics
  30. Structural Health Monitoring1▲ 28×2 topics
  31. Optical 3D Laser Measurement1▲ 150×1 topic
  32. Plate Tectonics1▲ 13×2 topics
  33. Position-Sensitive Detector1▲ 150×1 topic
  34. Radio Astronomy1▲ 90×2 topics
  35. Literary Criticism1▲ 37×1 topic
  36. Modernist Poetry1▲ 246×1 topic

Which research topics does Lowell Observatory publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies, Astro and Planetary Science, Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies and Planetary Science and Exploration.

Stellar, planetary, and …10Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies: 10 fractional worksAstro and Planetary Science: 8 fractional worksAstrophysics and Star Formation Studies: 5 fractional worksPlanetary Science and Ex…5Planetary Science and Exploration: 5 fractional worksAstronomy and Astrophysi…5Astronomy and Astrophysical Research: 5 fractional worksAdaptive optics and wavefront sensing: 2 fractional worksGamma-ray bursts and supernovae: 2 fractional worksGalaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena: 1 fractional worksIsotope Analysis in Ecology: 1 fractional worksSolar and Space Plasma Dynamics: 1 fractional works
Astronomy and AstrophysicsInstrumentationAtomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsEcology

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

  1. 1 Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies Astronomy and Astrophysics 10 works
  2. 2 Astro and Planetary Science Astronomy and Astrophysics 8 works
  3. 3 Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies Astronomy and Astrophysics 5 works
  4. 4 Planetary Science and Exploration Astronomy and Astrophysics 5 works
  5. 5 Astronomy and Astrophysical Research Instrumentation 5 works
  6. 6 Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics 2 works
  7. 7 Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae Astronomy and Astrophysics 2 works
  8. 8 Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena Astronomy and Astrophysics 1 works
  9. 9 Isotope Analysis in Ecology Ecology 1 works
  10. 10 Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics Astronomy and Astrophysics 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 available47.4%not open52.6%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors21.2%domestic only78.8%

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has Lowell Observatory's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 36% lower 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 Lowell Observatory as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.00022% in 2024.

still counting0.0050%0.010%Lowell Observatory0.000096% in 202519801990200020102020

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

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year, against all institutions in the same year.

20%40%60%Lowell Observatory10.3% in 2018all institutions10.0% in 201820002010

Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 41.4% in 2014.

Other research institutions in Flagstaff

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Lowell 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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