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Research facility · Brussels · Belgium

Royal Observatory of Belgium

In research, Royal Observatory of Belgium stands highest in Physical Sciences (#5,931 of 12,888 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Astronomy and Astrophysics and Physics and Astronomy — Astronomy and Astrophysics is 84.3× its share of world research.

astro.oma.be/enROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#10,865
of 28,054 · #7,504 all time
Rank in Belgium
#58
of 138
Research works
1.3k
▲ 13% vs 2013–17
Citations
28k
22.1 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
22.5%
record average 16.5%
Open access
58%
world 28%

What is Royal Observatory of Belgium 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 #5,931 of 12,888 23.4%101 #4515

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Royal Observatory of Belgium 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).

What does Royal Observatory of Belgium specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Astronomy and Astrophysics takes 84.3× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield · 48.9 works84×
  2. Physics and AstronomyField · 58.2 works23×
← 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, 1 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.68× its world share, 4 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Chemistry: 0.47× its world share, 1 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.51× its world share, 4 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 9.85× its world share, 17 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.68× its world share, 1 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.87× its world share, 14 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.61× its world share, 3 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.11× its world share, 0 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.87× its world share, 1 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 23.47× its world share, 58 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 0.11× its world share, 0 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.03× its world share, 1 worksMedicineArts and Humanities: 0.03× its world share, 0 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.97× its world share, 1 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.07× its world share, 0 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.20× its world share, 1 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.20× its world share, 3 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 23.5×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Royal Observatory of Belgium?

Ranked on the composite score, A. J. Sauval, F. Clette and Anna Miglio lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Royal Observatory of Belgium.

  1. 1 A. J. Sauval Belgium · #78,280 worldwide 299 citations · 26 works
  2. 2 F. Clette Belgium · #106,354 worldwide 150 citations · 43 works
  3. 3 Anna Miglio Belgium · #170,957 worldwide 208 citations · 35 works
  4. 4 J. Cuypers Belgium · #194,127 worldwide 173 citations · 31 works
  5. 5 R. Geyer Belgium · #212,775 worldwide 450 citations · 17 works
  6. 6 Attilio Rivoldini Belgium · #248,859 worldwide 192 citations · 46 works
  7. 7 R. Blomme Belgium · #272,740 worldwide 273 citations · 64 works
  8. 8 I. E. Dammasch Belgium · #342,874 worldwide 72 citations · 26 works
  9. 9 M. A. T. Groenewegen Belgium · #353,653 worldwide 435 citations · 120 works
  10. 10 Özgür Karatekin Belgium · #374,019 worldwide 204 citations · 80 works
All ranked researchers at Royal Observatory of Belgium

Which keywords describe research at Royal Observatory of Belgium?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Solar Wind, Solar System Abundances, Terrestrial Planets, Exoplanets, Stellar Astrophysics, Coronal Mass Ejections, Solar Dynamics Observatory and Geodetic Measurements.

▲ 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. Solar Wind14▲ 134×2 topics
  2. Solar System Abundances9▲ 167×1 topic
  3. Terrestrial Planets9▲ 167×1 topic
  4. Exoplanets9▲ 199×1 topic
  5. Stellar Astrophysics9▲ 199×1 topic
  6. Coronal Mass Ejections8▲ 204×1 topic
  7. Solar Dynamics Observatory8▲ 204×1 topic
  8. Climate Change8▲ 2.6×13 topics
  9. Geodetic Measurements7▲ 56×2 topics
  10. Electron Acceleration6▲ 74×2 topics
  11. Ionosphere6▲ 89×1 topic
  12. Magnetosphere6▲ 89×1 topic
  13. Sea Level Rise6▲ 39×3 topics
  14. Accretion Disks5▲ 102×2 topics
  15. Magnetic Fields5▲ 74×2 topics
  16. Hydrological Modeling5▲ 19×2 topics
  17. GRACE5▲ 87×1 topic
  18. groundwater depletion5▲ 87×1 topic
  19. Mars5▲ 136×1 topic
  20. Martian Surface5▲ 136×1 topic
  21. Orbit Determination5▲ 103×2 topics
  22. Astronomical Instrumentation5▲ 167×1 topic
  23. Spectrograph5▲ 167×1 topic
  24. Star Formation5▲ 78×2 topics
  25. Turbulence4▲ 47×2 topics
  26. GNSS4▲ 190×1 topic
  27. Global Navigation Satellite Systems4▲ 160×1 topic
  28. Molecular Clouds4▲ 153×1 topic
  29. Protoplanetary Disks4▲ 153×1 topic
  30. Geomagnetic Field4▲ 161×1 topic
  31. Magnetosome Formation4▲ 161×1 topic
  32. Tomography3▲ 17×3 topics
  33. Radio Astronomy2▲ 98×2 topics
  34. Gravitational Waves2▲ 37×2 topics
  35. Plate Tectonics2▲ 14×3 topics
  36. Forecasting2▲ 10×3 topics
  37. Structural Health Monitoring2▲ 24×2 topics
  38. Atomic Clocks2▲ 209×1 topic
  39. Optical 3D Laser Measurement2▲ 154×1 topic
  40. Position-Sensitive Detector2▲ 154×1 topic

Which research topics does Royal Observatory of Belgium publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Astro and Planetary Science, Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies, Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics and Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics.

Astro and Planetary Scie…9Astro and Planetary Science: 9 fractional worksStellar, planetary, and …9Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies: 9 fractional worksSolar and Space Plasma D…8Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics: 8 fractional worksIonosphere and magnetosp…6Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics: 6 fractional worksGeophysics and Gravity Measurements: 5 fractional worksPlanetary Science and Exploration: 5 fractional worksAstronomy and Astrophysi…5Astronomy and Astrophysical Research: 5 fractional worksGNSS positioning and int…4GNSS positioning and interference: 4 fractional worksAstrophysics and Star Fo…4Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies: 4 fractional worksGeomagnetism and Paleoma…4Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Studies: 4 fractional works
Astronomy and AstrophysicsOceanographyInstrumentationAerospace Engineering1 others

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

  1. 1 Astro and Planetary Science Astronomy and Astrophysics 9 works
  2. 2 Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies Astronomy and Astrophysics 9 works
  3. 3 Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics Astronomy and Astrophysics 8 works
  4. 4 Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics Astronomy and Astrophysics 6 works
  5. 5 Geophysics and Gravity Measurements Oceanography 5 works
  6. 6 Planetary Science and Exploration Astronomy and Astrophysics 5 works
  7. 7 Astronomy and Astrophysical Research Instrumentation 5 works
  8. 8 GNSS positioning and interference Aerospace Engineering 4 works
  9. 9 Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies Astronomy and Astrophysics 4 works
  10. 10 Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Studies Molecular Biology 4 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 available57.5%not open42.5%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors48.3%domestic only51.7%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Royal Observatory of Belgium's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 13% 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 Brussels

All research institutions in Brussels

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.