Astro and Planetary Science
Astro and Planetary Science is a research topic within Astronomy and Astrophysics. Science Explorer counts 94k research works in it since 1950. 23.0% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers explores the formation and evolution of the Solar System, including topics such as the abundances and compositions of various celestial bodies, the chronology of planetary formation, the taxonomy of asteroids and comets, and the structure of the Kuiper Belt. It also delves into the composition of meteorites, plumes on moons like Enceladus, and the presence of organic matter in extraterrestrial environments.
- Solar System Abundances
- Terrestrial Planets
- Giant Planets
- Cometary Composition
- Asteroid Taxonomy
- Planetary Chronology
- Enceladus Plumes
- Chondritic Meteorites
- Kuiper Belt Structure
- Extraterrestrial Organic Matter
- Research works
- 94k fractional, since 1950
- In the world top 10%
- 22k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 23.0% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- -1% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Astro and Planetary Science research?
By volume, the United States and China publish the most (3.2k and 1.4k works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 United States 3.2k works
- 2 China 1.4k works
- 3 France 797 works
- 4 Russia 645 works
- 5 United Kingdom 502 works
- 6 Germany 475 works
- 7 Japan 435 works
- 8 Italy 425 works
- 9 India 340 works
- 10 Spain 230 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.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead Astro and Planetary Science research?
By volume in 2022–2025, Jet Propulsion Laboratory publishes the most Astro and Planetary Science research, followed by Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian and Planetary Science Institute.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 Jet Propulsion LaboratoryUnited States 149 works
- 2 Center for Astrophysics Harvard & SmithsonianUnited States 147 works
- 3 Planetary Science InstituteUnited States 129 works
- 4 Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueFrance 120 works
- 5 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 115 works
- 6 Goddard Space Flight CenterUnited States 102 works
- 7 Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics LaboratoryUnited States 76 works
- 8 University of ArizonaUnited States 76 works
- 9 University of North Carolina at Chapel HillUnited States 72 works
- 10 California Institute of TechnologyUnited States 71 works
Who are the leading researchers in Astro and Planetary Science?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Astro and Planetary Science include Xiaogang Wang, X. Wu and E. L. Wright.
- 1 Xiaogang Wang Russia 13k citations
- 2 X. Wu Switzerland 9.6k citations
- 3 E. L. Wright United States 9.3k citations
- 4 David N. Spergel United States 7.9k citations
- 5 William H. Press United States 7.7k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Astro and Planetary Science research done?
The largest centres of Astro and Planetary Science research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Moscow (Russia), Paris (France) and Pasadena (United States). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Nizhniy Arkhyz, Meudon and North Laurel.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
Where it is the local speciality
- Nizhniy ArkhyzRU · 24.1 works145×
- MeudonFR · 25.6 works143×
- North LaurelUS · 76.4 works125×
- Mitaka-shiJP · 24.4 works112×
- GreenbeltUS · 103.8 works109×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Astro and Planetary Science than the world average.
Where is the best place to study Astro and Planetary Science?
Among universities, judged by research, Samara National Research University, Macau University of Science and Technology and Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté 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.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samara National Research UniversityRussia | 66.8 | 40.3% | 13.3× | 17 | +293.6% |
| 2 | Macau University of Science and TechnologyMacau | 62.6 | 13.7% | 11.7× | 25 | +394.0% |
| 3 | Université Bourgogne Franche-ComtéFrance | 61.2 | 36.8% | 11.0× | 11 | +29.5% |
| 4 | California Institute of TechnologyUnited States | 60.9 | 31.9% | 30.3× | 72 | -38.0% |
| 5 | University of ArizonaUnited States | 60.8 | 28.8% | 12.0× | 76 | +1.6% |
| 6 | Northwestern Polytechnical UniversityChina | 60.2 | 56.1% | 3.4× | 38 | +130.3% |
| 7 | University of BernSwitzerland | 59.8 | 31.5% | 8.7× | 36 | +53.9% |
| 8 | University of Colorado BoulderUnited States | 57.8 | 23.7% | 18.4× | 70 | +3.4% |
| 9 | Université Côte d'AzurFrance | 56.7 | 35.4% | 14.9× | 12 | +35.5% |
| 10 | Space Engineering UniversityChina | 56.4 | 38.4% | 22.4× | 16 | — |
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 Astro and Planetary Science research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 1% lower than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2020. The fastest-growing topics are Astro and Planetary Science.
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.