Science Explorer Interactive view Map
Research facility · London · United Kingdom

Royal Observatory in Greenwich

In research, Royal Observatory in Greenwich stands highest in Physical Sciences (#4,406 of 21,541 worldwide), Astronomy and Astrophysics (#451 of 1,146 worldwide) and Physics and Astronomy (#1,723 of 3,663 worldwide), over all time.

World rank, all time
#7,195
of 42,892
Rank in United Kingdom
#418
of 2,253
Research works
1k
▲ 69% vs 2013–17
Citations
21k
20.1 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
5.8%
record average 16.5%
Open access
41%
world 28%

What is Royal Observatory in Greenwich 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 #4,406 of 21,541 15.6%954
Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield #451 of 1,146 17.7%464
Physics and AstronomyField #1,723 of 3,663 17.2%689
EngineeringField #10,148 of 11,412 10.2%164

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Royal Observatory in Greenwich 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.

Chemistry: 0.37× its world share, 0 worksChemistryEarth and Planetary Sciences: 2.49× its world share, 0 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 2.39× its world share, 0 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.62× its world share, 0 worksEngineeringPhysics and Astronomy: 16.02× its world share, 2 worksPhysics and AstronomyMedicine: 0.32× its world share, 0 worksMedicineArts and Humanities: 7.68× its world share, 1 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.21× its world share, 0 worksBusiness, Management…Economics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.48× its world share, 0 worksEconomics, Econometr…Social Sciences: 1.02× its world share, 1 worksSocial Sciencesworld share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 16.0×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Royal Observatory in Greenwich?

Ranked on the composite score, William Ellis, J. V. Wall and C. A. Murray lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Royal Observatory in Greenwich.

  1. 1 William Ellis United Kingdom · #131,931 worldwide 186 citations · 68 works
  2. 2 J. V. Wall United Kingdom · #142,242 worldwide 261 citations · 44 works
  3. 3 C. A. Murray United Kingdom · #237,938 worldwide 90 citations · 27 works
  4. 4 L. V. Morrison United Kingdom · #669,067 worldwide 37 citations · 24 works
  5. 5 M. V. Penston United Kingdom · #806,107 worldwide 117 citations · 51 works
  6. 6 R. J. Dickens United Kingdom · #973,154 worldwide 53 citations · 30 works
  7. 7 A. C. D. Crommelin United Kingdom · #1,047,021 worldwide 8 citations · 54 works
  8. 8 Harold Spencer Jones United Kingdom · #1,093,087 worldwide 25 citations · 54 works
  9. 9 George Biddell Airy United Kingdom · #1,100,363 worldwide 44 citations · 161 works
  10. 10 R. E. S. Clegg United Kingdom · #1,152,933 worldwide 55 citations · 25 works
All ranked researchers at Royal Observatory in Greenwich

Which keywords describe research at Royal Observatory in Greenwich?

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

▲ 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. Exoplanets117▲ 154×1 topic
  2. Stellar Astrophysics117▲ 154×1 topic
  3. Astronomical Instrumentation113▲ 213×1 topic
  4. Spectrograph113▲ 213×1 topic
  5. Star Formation92▲ 96×2 topics
  6. Spectroscopy79▲ 24×5 topics
  7. Radio Astronomy79▲ 208×2 topics
  8. Black Holes77▲ 51×3 topics
  9. High-Resolution Imaging68▲ 107×3 topics
  10. Historical Figures66▲ 169×2 topics
  11. Solar Observations66▲ 323×1 topic
  12. Transits of Venus66▲ 323×1 topic
  13. Magnetic Fields64▲ 60×3 topics
  14. Accretion Disks64▲ 76×2 topics
  15. Structural Health Monitoring63▲ 59×2 topics
  16. Optical 3D Laser Measurement63▲ 308×1 topic
  17. Position-Sensitive Detector63▲ 308×1 topic
  18. Climate Change57▲ 2.0×21 topics
  19. Dark Matter54▲ 28×3 topics
  20. Cosmology53▲ 56×3 topics
  21. Galaxies52▲ 113×1 topic
  22. Stellar Populations52▲ 113×1 topic
  23. Solar System Abundances45▲ 51×1 topic
  24. Terrestrial Planets45▲ 51×1 topic
  25. Turbulence42▲ 28×2 topics
  26. Molecular Clouds40▲ 80×1 topic
  27. Protoplanetary Disks40▲ 80×1 topic
  28. Adaptive Optics39▲ 188×1 topic
  29. Wavefront Sensing39▲ 188×1 topic
  30. Geodetic Measurements38▲ 29×2 topics
  31. Sea Level Rise38▲ 28×2 topics
  32. GRACE37▲ 73×1 topic
  33. groundwater depletion37▲ 73×1 topic
  34. Gravitational Waves30▲ 45×2 topics
  35. Supernovae30▲ 28×2 topics
  36. Nucleosynthesis29▲ 27×3 topics
  37. Solar Wind27▲ 19×2 topics
  38. Galactic Center25▲ 39×2 topics
  39. Historical Astronomy24▲ 113×2 topics
  40. Gamma-Ray Bursts24▲ 69×1 topic

Which research topics does Royal Observatory in Greenwich publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: History and Developments in Astronomy, History of Science and Medicine, Historical Astronomy and Related Studies and History of Science and Natural History.

  1. 1 History and Developments in Astronomy Astronomy and Astrophysics 1 works
  2. 2 History of Science and Medicine History and Philosophy of Science 0 works
  3. 3 Historical Astronomy and Related Studies Astronomy and Astrophysics 0 works
  4. 4 History of Science and Natural History History and Philosophy of Science 0 works
  5. 5 Semiconductor Lasers and Optical Devices Electrical and Electronic Engineering 0 works
  6. 6 transportation and logistics systems Transportation 0 works
  7. 7 Calibration and Measurement Techniques Aerospace Engineering 0 works
  8. 8 Diverse Historical and Scientific Studies History and Philosophy of Science 0 works
  9. 9 Conferences and Exhibitions Management Sociology and Political Science 0 works
  10. 10 Transport and Economic Policies Strategy and Management 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 available41.2%not open58.8%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors25.3%domestic only74.7%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Royal Observatory in Greenwich's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 69% 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 London

All research institutions in London

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.