Science Explorer Interactive view Map
Subfield · Physics and Astronomy

Astronomy and Astrophysics research

Astronomy and Astrophysics is a subfield of Physics and Astronomy. Science Explorer counts 846k research works in it since 1950. 23.6% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

In short: scientific study of celestial objects and phenomena.

Research works
846k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
199k
per year above
Top-10% rate
23.6%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Topics
21
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+5%
the tick is no change

What is Astronomy and Astrophysics research about, and what is growing?

By the world's output in 2019–23, its most used keywords are Solar Wind, Supernovae, Star Formation, General Relativity, Black Holes, Accretion Disks. Gaining share since 2009–13: Binary Black Hole, Neutron Star, Extraterrestrial Life, SETI, Ionosphere. Losing share: Molecular Clouds, Protoplanetary Disks, Star Formation, Accretion Disks.

▲ gaining share of this field◆ holding its share▼ losing share

Size is the world's fractional works in 2019–23 in the topics tagged with each word; colour compares the word's share of this field with 2009–13. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Solar Wind26k◆ 1.09×2 topics
  2. Supernovae21k◆ 1.04×2 topics
  3. Star Formation18k▼ 0.84×2 topics
  4. General Relativity17k◆ 1.03×2 topics
  5. Black Holes15k◆ 0.89×2 topics
  6. Accretion Disks15k▼ 0.86×2 topics
  7. Magnetic Fields15k▼ 0.86×2 topics
  8. Ionosphere15k▲ 1.25×1 topic
  9. Magnetosphere15k▲ 1.25×1 topic
  10. Gravitational Waves15k▲ 1.23×2 topics
  11. Solar System Abundances14k◆ 0.90×1 topic
  12. Terrestrial Planets14k◆ 0.90×1 topic
  13. Cosmological Parameters14k◆ 1.01×1 topic
  14. Dark Energy14k◆ 1.01×1 topic
  15. Exoplanets13k▼ 0.86×1 topic
  16. Stellar Astrophysics13k▼ 0.86×1 topic
  17. Cosmology12k◆ 0.92×2 topics
  18. Coronal Mass Ejections11k◆ 0.93×1 topic
  19. Solar Dynamics Observatory11k◆ 0.93×1 topic
  20. Galaxies8,892◆ 0.87×1 topic
  21. Stellar Populations8,892◆ 0.87×1 topic
  22. Molecular Clouds8,713▼ 0.82×1 topic
  23. Protoplanetary Disks8,713▼ 0.82×1 topic
  24. Mars8,593◆ 1.01×1 topic
  25. Martian Surface8,593◆ 1.01×1 topic
  26. Binary Black Hole7,546▲ 1.40×1 topic
  27. Neutron Star7,546▲ 1.40×1 topic
  28. Gamma-Ray Bursts7,262◆ 1.09×1 topic
  29. Neutron Stars7,262◆ 1.09×1 topic
  30. Astrobiology7,031▲ 1.18×2 topics
  31. Event Horizon Telescope6,425◆ 0.92×1 topic
  32. X-Ray Astronomy6,425◆ 0.92×1 topic
  33. Radio Astronomy6,055◆ 1.00×2 topics
  34. Extraterrestrial Life5,124▲ 1.39×1 topic
  35. SETI5,124▲ 1.39×1 topic
  36. Distribution4,687◆ 1.06×1 topic
  37. Lightning4,687◆ 1.06×1 topic
  38. Epoch of Reionization3,378◆ 1.04×1 topic
  39. Low-Frequency Telescopes3,378◆ 1.04×1 topic
  40. Finsler Geometry3,222◆ 1.13×1 topic

Which countries lead Astronomy and Astrophysics research?

On research quality in 2022–2025, the United States, China and France rank highest in Astronomy and Astrophysics. By volume, the United States and China publish the most (29k and 14k works in 2022–2025).

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 United States · #1 all time 19.8% top 10% · 29k works
  2. 2 China · #6 all time 23.0% top 10% · 14k works
  3. 3 France · #4 all time 25.8% top 10% · 5.9k works
  4. 4 United Kingdom · #2 all time 25.9% top 10% · 5.5k works
  5. 5 Germany · #3 all time 28.2% top 10% · 5.2k works
  6. 6 Italy · #5 all time 27.5% top 10% · 4.9k works
  7. 7 Japan · #7 all time 23.5% top 10% · 4k works
  8. 8 Spain · #9 all time 25.0% top 10% · 3k works
  9. 9 Canada · #8 all time 26.2% top 10% · 2.1k works
  10. 10 India · #14 all time 18.1% top 10% · 6k works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 51 countries ranked in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Composite of field-normalised excellence (50%), output (30%) and citations (20%); the bracket is the all-time rank.

All countries ranked in Astronomy and Astrophysics

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 United States 29k works
  2. 2 China 14k works
  3. 3 India 5.9k works
  4. 4 France 5.9k works
  5. 5 United Kingdom 5.5k works
  6. 6 Russia 5.3k works
  7. 7 Germany 5.2k works
  8. 8 Italy 4.9k works
  9. 9 Japan 4k works
  10. 10 Spain 3k works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

United States: 34.8%China: 17.0%India: 7.2%France: 7.1%6 others listed: 33.9%35%largest
United States29k · 34.8%China14k · 17.0%India5,950 · 7.2%France5,875 · 7.1%6 others listed28k · 33.9%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Astronomy and Astrophysics research?

Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (France) ranks first in Astronomy and Astrophysics on research quality in 2022–2025, followed by University of Cambridge and California Institute of Technology.

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique France · Paris · #8 all time 30.9% top 10% · 850 works
  2. 2 University of Cambridge United Kingdom · Cambridge · #7 all time 35.2% top 10% · 457 works
  3. 3 California Institute of Technology United States · Pasadena · #1 all time 36.5% top 10% · 484 works
  4. 4 University of Oxford United Kingdom · Oxford · #29 all time 36.6% top 10% · 330 works
  5. 5 Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing · #48 all time 22.4% top 10% · 995 works
  6. 6 Princeton University United States · Princeton · #3 all time 42.7% top 10% · 334 works
  7. 7 Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian United States · Cambridge · #5 all time 15.0% top 10% · 799 works
  8. 8 Massachusetts Institute of Technology United States · Cambridge · #9 all time 34.8% top 10% · 329 works
  9. 9 University of Arizona United States · Tucson · #11 all time 22.9% top 10% · 534 works
  10. 10 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing 24.8% top 10% · 622 works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 443 institutions above the floor of 40 fractional works in Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Top 100 Astronomy and Astrophysics institutions

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Chinese Academy of Sciences China 995 works
  2. 2 Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique France 850 works
  3. 3 University of California, Berkeley United States 836 works
  4. 4 Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian United States 799 works
  5. 5 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences China 622 works
  6. 6 Goddard Space Flight Center United States 550 works
  7. 7 Jet Propulsion Laboratory United States 535 works
  8. 8 University of Arizona United States 535 works
  9. 9 Purdue University West Lafayette United States 503 works
  10. 10 Lomonosov Moscow State University Russia 492 works

Who are the leading researchers in Astronomy and Astrophysics?

Among the most productive authors in Astronomy and Astrophysics, E. L. Wright, Edward J. Wollack and M. Halpern rank highest on the composite score.

  1. 1 E. L. Wright United States · #13 worldwide 9.3k citations · 228 works
  2. 2 Edward J. Wollack United States · #83 worldwide 7.2k citations · 212 works
  3. 3 M. Halpern Canada · #96 worldwide 7k citations · 144 works
  4. 4 David N. Spergel United States · #104 worldwide 7.9k citations · 198 works
  5. 5 C. L. Bennett United States · #177 worldwide 7.4k citations · 119 works
  6. 6 Licia Verde Spain · #231 worldwide 8.2k citations · 118 works
  7. 7 S. S. Meyer United States · #269 worldwide 7.4k citations · 110 works
  8. 8 S. Henrot–Versillé France · #300 worldwide 7.5k citations · 239 works
  9. 9 Saul A. Teukolsky United States · #446 worldwide 8.4k citations · 102 works
  10. 10 S. W. Hawking United Kingdom · #774 worldwide 4.5k citations · 101 works

Re-ranked on the composite score from the 5,963 highest-output authors in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Identities come from OpenAlex author disambiguation, which occasionally merges or splits people.

Top 100 Astronomy and Astrophysics researchers

Where is Astronomy and Astrophysics research done?

The largest centres of Astronomy and Astrophysics research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Moscow (Russia), Paris (France) and Tokyo (Japan). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Australind, Nizhniy Arkhyz and Ondřejov.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Beijing China 4.9k works
  2. 2 Moscow Russia 2.8k works
  3. 3 Paris France 2.6k works
  4. 4 Tokyo Japan 1.4k works
  5. 5 Cambridge United States 1.4k works
  6. 6 Pasadena United States 1.2k works
  7. 7 Rome Italy 1.1k works
  8. 8 London United Kingdom 1k works
  9. 9 Berkeley United States 1k works
  10. 10 Tucson United States 1k works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. AustralindAU · 59.1 works125×
  2. Nizhniy ArkhyzRU · 221.4 works125×
  3. OndřejovCZ · 112.6 works124×
  4. NahantUS · 60.9 works115×
  5. KirunaSE · 64.6 works115×
  6. TautenburgDE · 24.6 works115×
  7. ŞamaxıAZ · 21.2 works112×
  8. Pino TorineseIT · 63.1 works108×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Astronomy and Astrophysics than the world average.

See Astronomy and Astrophysics on the map

Astronomy and Astrophysics research by country

The best places for Astronomy and Astrophysics research inside each country, with that country's researchers and world standing.

Where is the best place to study Astronomy and Astrophysics?

Among universities, judged by research, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, Eastern Mediterranean University and Khazar University score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%20%40%60%mean 35.22%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Université Paris Sciences et Lettres: 120, 28.5%Eastern Mediterranean University: 72, 53.3%Khazar University: 67, 49.5%Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté: 108, 39.5%California Institute of Technology: 484, 36.5%Princeton University: 334, 42.7%Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian: 799, 15.0%University of California, Santa Cruz: 201, 35.4%Leiden University: 252, 37.1%University of California, Berkeley: 836, 14.7%Eastern Mediterranea…Khazar UniversityUniversité Bourgogne…Université Paris Sci…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1Université Paris Sciences et Lettres France 64.428.5%11.7×120 +3564.5%
2Eastern Mediterranean University Cyprus 63.253.3%10.4×72 +81.3%
3Khazar University Azerbaijan 62.849.5%20.2×67 —
4Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté France 62.139.5%10.0×108 +36.8%
5California Institute of Technology United States 61.436.5%19.2×484 -28.1%
6Princeton University United States 56.442.7%7.3×334 +9.5%
7Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian United States 56.115.0%100.0×799 -3.3%
8University of California, Santa Cruz United States 54.635.4%10.2×201 -14.6%
9Leiden University Netherlands 54.037.1%7.0×252 +35.2%
10University of California, Berkeley United States 53.714.7%9.2×836 -8.5%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Astronomy and Astrophysics research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 5% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2023. The fastest-growing topics are Historical Astronomy and Related Studies, Space exploration and regulation and Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

  1. Historical Astronomy and Related Studies+88%
  2. Space exploration and regulation+83%
  3. Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life+72%
  4. Advanced Differential Geometry Research+67%
  5. Lightning and Electromagnetic Phenomena+58%
  6. Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research+48%
← shrinkingno changegrowing →

Growth in output from 2005–09 to 2015–19. Every topic is a page of its own.

What does Astronomy and Astrophysics include?

Astro and Planetary Scie…94kAstro and Planetary Science: 94k fractional worksStellar, planetary, and …81kStellar, planetary, and galactic studies: 81k fractional worksSolar and Space Plasma Dynamics: 77k fractional worksCosmology and Gravitatio…76kCosmology and Gravitation Theories: 76k fractional worksIonosphere and magnetosp…76kIonosphere and magnetosphere dynamics: 76k fractional worksPlanetary Science and Exploration: 54k fractional worksAstrophysics and Star Formation Studies: 53k fractional worksGalaxies: Formation, Evo…49kGalaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena: 49k fractional worksGamma-ray bursts and supernovae: 37k fractional worksAstrophysical Phenomena and Observations: 36k fractional worksPulsars and Gravitational Waves Research: 35k fractional worksSpace Science and Extraterrestrial Life: 24k fractional works

Area is fractional works in that topic. Every name below is a page of its own.