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Mount Wilson Observatory

In research, Mount Wilson Observatory stands highest in Physical Sciences (#5,917 of 21,541 worldwide), Physics and Astronomy (#2,435 of 3,663 worldwide) and Astronomy and Astrophysics (#814 of 1,146 worldwide), over all time.

mtwilson.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, all time
#9,786
of 42,892
Rank in United States
#2,171
of 8,685
Research works
358
▼ 6% vs 2013–17
Citations
13k
35.8 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
16.4%
record average 16.5%
Open access
31%
world 28%

What is Mount Wilson 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 #5,917 of 21,541 24.3%325
Physics and AstronomyField #2,435 of 3,663 23.4%249
Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield #814 of 1,146 23.1%177

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Mount Wilson 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.

Earth and Planetary Sciences: 2.91× its world share, 0 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.76× its world share, 0 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.82× its world share, 1 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.97× its world share, 0 worksEnvironmental SciencePhysics and Astronomy: 30.83× its world share, 7 worksPhysics and AstronomyBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.34× its world share, 0 worksBusiness, Management…Economics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.01× its world share, 0 worksEconomics, Econometr…Social Sciences: 0.13× 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, 30.8×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Mount Wilson Observatory?

Ranked on the composite score, Horace W. Babcock, W. S. Adams and Edwin Hubble lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Mount Wilson Observatory.

  1. 1 Horace W. Babcock United States · #128,244 worldwide 230 citations · 36 works
  2. 2 W. S. Adams United States · #260,324 worldwide 163 citations · 85 works
  3. 3 Edwin Hubble United States · #354,392 worldwide 87 citations · 23 works
  4. 4 A. H. Joy United States · #713,959 worldwide 68 citations · 47 works
  5. 5 Paul W. Merrill United States · #901,095 worldwide 100 citations · 92 works
  6. 6 Arthur S. King United States · #1,205,203 worldwide 23 citations · 26 works
All ranked researchers at Mount Wilson Observatory

Which keywords describe research at Mount Wilson Observatory?

By fractional works in all years, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Exoplanets, Stellar Astrophysics, Astronomical Instrumentation, Spectrograph, Star Formation, Magnetic Fields, Accretion Disks and Radio Astronomy.

▲ 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. Exoplanets57▲ 217×1 topic
  2. Stellar Astrophysics57▲ 217×1 topic
  3. Astronomical Instrumentation45▲ 244×1 topic
  4. Spectrograph45▲ 244×1 topic
  5. Star Formation33▲ 98×2 topics
  6. Magnetic Fields26▲ 71×3 topics
  7. Accretion Disks26▲ 90×2 topics
  8. Radio Astronomy25▲ 193×2 topics
  9. Spectroscopy25▲ 21×5 topics
  10. Solar System Abundances22▲ 71×1 topic
  11. Terrestrial Planets22▲ 71×1 topic
  12. Turbulence21▲ 41×2 topics
  13. Molecular Clouds21▲ 120×1 topic
  14. Protoplanetary Disks21▲ 120×1 topic
  15. Solar Wind20▲ 40×2 topics
  16. High-Resolution Imaging19▲ 89×3 topics
  17. Solar Observations19▲ 272×1 topic
  18. Transits of Venus19▲ 272×1 topic
  19. Black Holes18▲ 34×3 topics
  20. Coronal Mass Ejections17▲ 68×1 topic
  21. Solar Dynamics Observatory17▲ 68×1 topic
  22. Optical 3D Laser Measurement16▲ 232×1 topic
  23. Position-Sensitive Detector16▲ 232×1 topic
  24. Cosmology13▲ 38×3 topics
  25. Dark Matter12▲ 18×3 topics
  26. Galaxies12▲ 75×1 topic
  27. Stellar Populations12▲ 75×1 topic
  28. Gravitational Waves8▲ 34×2 topics
  29. Supernovae8▲ 21×2 topics
  30. Nucleosynthesis7▲ 19×2 topics
  31. Adaptive Optics7▲ 97×1 topic
  32. Wavefront Sensing7▲ 97×1 topic
  33. Gamma-Ray Bursts7▲ 55×1 topic
  34. Neutron Stars7▲ 55×1 topic
  35. Electron Acceleration6▲ 19×2 topics
  36. Epoch of Reionization6▲ 101×1 topic
  37. Low-Frequency Telescopes6▲ 101×1 topic
  38. Galactic Center6▲ 25×2 topics
  39. Event Horizon Telescope5▲ 46×1 topic
  40. X-Ray Spectroscopy5▲ 20×2 topics

Which research topics does Mount Wilson Observatory publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies, Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies, Astronomy and Astrophysical Research and Astro and Planetary Science.

Stellar, planetary, and …2Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies: 2 fractional worksAstrophysics and Star Fo…2Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies: 2 fractional worksAstronomy and Astrophysical Research: 1 fractional worksAstro and Planetary Science: 1 fractional worksRadio Astronomy Observations and Technology: 0 fractional worksAstronomical Observations and Instrumentation: 0 fractional worksAdaptive optics and wavefront sensing: 0 fractional worksAstrophysical Phenomena and Observations: 0 fractional worksAstrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena: 0 fractional worksLandslides and related hazards: 0 fractional works
Astronomy and AstrophysicsInstrumentationComputational MechanicsAtomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics2 others

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

  1. 1 Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies Astronomy and Astrophysics 2 works
  2. 2 Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies Astronomy and Astrophysics 2 works
  3. 3 Astronomy and Astrophysical Research Instrumentation 1 works
  4. 4 Astro and Planetary Science Astronomy and Astrophysics 1 works
  5. 5 Radio Astronomy Observations and Technology Astronomy and Astrophysics 0 works
  6. 6 Astronomical Observations and Instrumentation Computational Mechanics 0 works
  7. 7 Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics 0 works
  8. 8 Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations Astronomy and Astrophysics 0 works
  9. 9 Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena Nuclear and High Energy Physics 0 works
  10. 10 Landslides and related hazards Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law 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 available31.1%not open68.9%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors17.7%domestic only82.3%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Mount Wilson Observatory's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 6% 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 Los Angeles

All research institutions in Los Angeles

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.