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Research facility · Castel Gandolfo · Italy

Vatican Observatory

In research, Vatican Observatory stands highest in Physical Sciences (#12,821 of 21,541 worldwide) and Social Sciences (#14,126 of 16,945 worldwide), over all time.

vaticanobservatory.orgROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#21,173
of 28,054 · #23,060 all time
Rank in Italy
#558
of 618
Research works
303
▲ 77% vs 2013–17
Citations
3k
9.8 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
7.8%
record average 16.5%
Open access
70%
world 28%

What is Vatican 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 #12,821 of 21,541 17.9%124
Social SciencesDomain #14,126 of 16,945 8.6%151

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Vatican 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: 0.70× its world share, 2 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.13× its world share, 0 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.26× its world share, 0 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.33× its world share, 0 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.19× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemistry: 0.04× its world share, 0 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.27× its world share, 1 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.96× its world share, 1 worksEarth and Planetary …Engineering: 0.19× its world share, 2 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.29× its world share, 1 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.27× its world share, 0 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 9.32× its world share, 13 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.55× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.13× its world share, 2 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.48× its world share, 6 worksMedicineArts and Humanities: 6.32× its world share, 11 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.22× its world share, 0 worksBusiness, Management…Economics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.54× its world share, 2 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.69× its world share, 1 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.31× its world share, 18 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 9.3×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Vatican Observatory?

Ranked on the composite score, Papa Francisco, G. V. Coyne and R. K. Saito lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Vatican Observatory.

  1. 1 Papa Francisco Italy · #222,491 worldwide 4 citations · 45 works
  2. 2 G. V. Coyne Italy · #534,581 worldwide 99 citations · 63 works
  3. 3 R. K. Saito Italy · #1,044,505 worldwide 109 citations · 29 works
  4. 4 Florence Albert Italy · #1,358,454 worldwide 0 citations · 71 works
  5. 5 J. G. Hagen Italy · #1,558,349 worldwide 0 citations · 20 works
All ranked researchers at Vatican Observatory

Which keywords describe research at Vatican Observatory?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Religion, Pedagogy, Digital Education, Tourism Development, Teaching Methods, Critical Thinking, Student Competencies and Cultural Heritage.

▲ 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. Religion5▲ 16×8 topics
  2. Pedagogy5▲ 15×5 topics
  3. Digital Education4▲ 53×2 topics
  4. Teaching Methods4▲ 46×2 topics
  5. Tourism Development4▲ 55×2 topics
  6. Critical Thinking4▲ 65×1 topic
  7. Student Competencies4▲ 127×1 topic
  8. Education4▲ 3.3×6 topics
  9. Sustainability3▲ 2.2×6 topics
  10. Cultural Heritage3▲ 9.4×7 topics
  11. Ethics3▲ 10×4 topics
  12. Globalization3▲ 2.4×6 topics
  13. Migration3▲ 14×4 topics
  14. History3▲ 6.1×8 topics
  15. Star Formation3▲ 82×2 topics
  16. Cosmology3▲ 62×3 topics
  17. Exoplanets3▲ 105×1 topic
  18. Stellar Astrophysics3▲ 105×1 topic
  19. Philosophy2▲ 8.5×5 topics
  20. Entrepreneurship2▲ 9.7×2 topics
  21. Black Holes2▲ 37×3 topics
  22. Dark Matter2▲ 31×3 topics
  23. Theology2▲ 35×2 topics
  24. Conservation2▲ 7.4×2 topics
  25. Innovation Economics2▲ 159×1 topic
  26. European Union2▲ 13×2 topics
  27. Astronomical Instrumentation2▲ 113×1 topic
  28. Ethical Challenges2▲ 15×2 topics
  29. Ethnography2▲ 17×3 topics
  30. Spectrograph2▲ 113×1 topic
  31. Church-State Relations2▲ 144×2 topics
  32. Freedom of Religion2▲ 144×2 topics
  33. Integration2▲ 18×2 topics
  34. Liberation2▲ 162×1 topic
  35. Social Dynamics2▲ 43×1 topic
  36. Supernovae2▲ 34×2 topics
  37. Welfare State2▲ 31×2 topics
  38. Canon Law2▲ 157×1 topic
  39. Religious Policy2▲ 157×1 topic
  40. Galaxies2▲ 89×1 topic

Which research topics does Vatican Observatory publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Education, Innovation and Language Studies, Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies, Economic and Industrial Development and Astronomy and Astrophysical Research.

Education, Innovation an…4Education, Innovation and Language Studies: 4 fractional worksStellar, planetary, and galactic studies: 3 fractional worksEconomic and Industrial Development: 2 fractional worksAstronomy and Astrophysical Research: 2 fractional worksReligious and Theological Studies: 2 fractional worksTheology and Canon Law Studies: 2 fractional worksGalaxies: Formation, Evo…2Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena: 2 fractional worksEducation and Teacher Training: 1 fractional worksSocial Sciences and Policies: 1 fractional worksAstrophysics and Star Formation Studies: 1 fractional works
EducationAstronomy and AstrophysicsEconomics and EconometricsInstrumentation3 others

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

  1. 1 Education, Innovation and Language Studies Education 4 works
  2. 2 Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies Astronomy and Astrophysics 3 works
  3. 3 Economic and Industrial Development Economics and Econometrics 2 works
  4. 4 Astronomy and Astrophysical Research Instrumentation 2 works
  5. 5 Religious and Theological Studies Sociology and Political Science 2 works
  6. 6 Theology and Canon Law Studies Religious studies 2 works
  7. 7 Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena Astronomy and Astrophysics 2 works
  8. 8 Education and Teacher Training Education 1 works
  9. 9 Social Sciences and Policies General Social Sciences 1 works
  10. 10 Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies 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 available69.8%not open30.2%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors39.2%domestic only60.8%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Vatican Observatory's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 77% 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.

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.