Journal rankings · indicator year 2021
Choose a field to open its ranking, or a journal to find its row in its subfield’s list.
Subfield ranking · 2021
Astronomy and Astrophysics journal rankings 2021
117 ranked journals · Subfield in Physics and Astronomy
Astronomy and Astrophysics has 117 ranked journals in 2021. The median journal has an OJR of 0.62, below the world average of 1.00, up 0.03 on 2020; Q1 starts at OJR 1.13. The top three are Space Science Reviews, The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, and The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
Ranks and citation indicators: 2021. Journal access status and listed APC: source snapshot September 23, 2026.
Journals whose main subfield sits in this category and that published at least 30 citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) in 2018–2020, the window the 2021 score is computed on.
The OpenJournalRank Indicator (OJR) is a free, publicly available metric of a journal’s field-normalized citation impact, computed from open OpenAlex citation data. It compares citations to a journal’s papers from the previous three years with the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so 1.00 is the world average and values can be compared across fields. It is computed with the NCI3 method.
The middle OJR among ranked journals in this category: half score higher, half lower. 1.00 is the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type.
The dot is this category, the solid tick is the median of all ranked journals and the dashed line is the world average.
Share of ranked journals in this category that are fully open access, so every paper is free to read. Hybrid journals, which sell subscriptions and open single papers for a fee, are not counted.
Median list price of the article processing charge, in US dollars, among ranked journals in this category that list a price above zero. Journals with a listed APC of $0 and journals with no known price are left out of this median. The At a glance table below gives a second median that includes the $0 prices.
Subfields of Physics and Astronomy (8)
117 ranked journals
Filters
Rank is the position by OJR within the list on screen; 1 is the highest. | OJR is field-normalized 3-year citation impact: 1.00 is the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so values compare across fields. The badge is the journal’s quartile in this list. | Citations per paper over a two-year window, counted from OpenAlex. It is not field-normalized, so compare it only between journals of the same field. ▲ or ▼ is the change from 2020. This is OpenJournalRank’s own count, not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. | Citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) published in 2018–2020, the window the 2021 OJR is computed on. A journal needs at least 30 to be ranked. | Share of the journal’s 2018–2020 papers that are free to read in any open-access form. The green OA tag next to a title marks a fully open-access journal. | List price of the article processing charge in US dollars. “$0 listed” means the listed price is zero; a dash means no price is listed. | The line is the journal’s OJR from 2012 to 2021. | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1Space Science ReviewsSpringer Science+Business Media · Netherlands | 3.65Q1 | 9.70 0.18 up from 2020 | 306 | 79% | $5,290 | ||
2The Astrophysical Journal Supplement SeriesOAInstitute of Physics · United Kingdom | 3.53Q1 | 9.19 0.38 up from 2020 | 753 | 99% | $4,499 | ||
3The Astrophysical Journal LettersOAIOP Publishing · United Kingdom | 3.08Q1 | 9.14 0.05 up from 2020 | 1,932 | 100% | $2,400 | ||
4Nature AstronomyNature Portfolio · United Kingdom | 2.78Q1 | 7.75 1.04 up from 2020 | 825 | 51% | $12,690 | ||
5New Astronomy ReviewsElsevier BV · Netherlands | 2.68Q1 | 8.60 4.41 up from 2020 | 36 | 77% | $4,350 | ||
6The Open Journal of AstrophysicsOAIreland | 2.38Q1 | 6.38 3.44 down from 2020 | 33 | 100% | — | ||
7Publications of the Astronomical Society of AustraliaCambridge University Press · Australia | 2.32Q1 | 6.01 0.93 up from 2020 | 153 | 89% | $3,550 | ||
8Publications of the Astronomical Society of the PacificInstitute of Physics · United Kingdom | 2.11Q1 | 4.64 0.99 down from 2020 | 404 | 96% | $3,325 | ||
9Fortschritte der PhysikWiley · Germany | 2.07Q1 | 4.34 0.78 down from 2020 | 189 | 73% | $3,460 | ||
10Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2018: Ultraviolet to Gamma RayPublisher not listed | 2.03Q1 | —no 2020 value | 186 | — | — | ||
11Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle PhysicsInstitute of Physics · United Kingdom | 2.00Q1 | 7.03 1.29 up from 2020 | 2,072 | 98% | $3,290 | ||
12Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2018: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter WavePublisher not listed | 1.99Q1 | —no 2020 value | 195 | — | — | ||
13The Astronomical JournalOAInstitute of Physics · United States | 1.93Q1 | 5.57 1.28 down from 2020 | 1,671 | 99% | $4,499 | ||
14Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society LettersOxford University Press · United Kingdom | 1.92Q1 | 5.24 0.08 down from 2020 | 626 | 94% | $1,451 | ||
15Annual Review of Astronomy and AstrophysicsAnnual Reviews · United States | 1.90Q1 | 37.21 6.36 up from 2020 | 50 | 85% | — | ||
16Reviews in Mineralogy and GeochemistryMineralogical Society of America · United States | 1.80Q1 | 7.94 2.84 up from 2020 | 30 | 7% | — | ||
17Astronomy and AstrophysicsOAEDP Sciences · France | 1.73Q1 | 6.40 0.23 up from 2020 | 6,057 | 100% | $1,865 | ||
18AstrobiologyMary Ann Liebert, Inc. · United States | 1.62Q1 | 4.39 0.77 down from 2020 | 331 | 50% | — | ||
19Journal of Geophysical Research PlanetsWiley · United States | 1.59Q1 | 4.97 0.90 up from 2020 | 635 | 62% | $4,070 | ||
20Physics of the Dark UniverseElsevier BV · Netherlands | 1.55Q1 | 4.26 0.22 up from 2020 | 357 | 66% | $3,660 | ||
21The Astrophysical JournalOAIOP Publishing · United Kingdom | 1.54Q1 | 5.49 0.44 down from 2020 | 9,192 | 100% | $4,499 | ||
22Earth and Space ScienceOAAmerican Geophysical Union · United States | 1.49Q1 | 4.69 1.11 up from 2020 | 533 | 100% | $2,650 | ||
23Space WeatherOAAmerican Geophysical Union · United States | 1.49Q1 | 4.40 0.04 down from 2020 | 408 | 100% | $3,000 | ||
24Journal of Space Weather and Space ClimateOAEDP Open · France | 1.43Q1 | 3.32 0.31 down from 2020 | 182 | 100% | $1,413 | ||
25Frontiers in Astronomy and Space SciencesOAFrontiers Media · Switzerland | 1.36Q1 | 3.80 0.54 down from 2020 | 217 | 100% | $2,353 | ||
26Classical and Quantum GravityIOP Publishing · United Kingdom | 1.32Q1 | 3.73 0.03 up from 2020 | 1,257 | 94% | $3,325 | ||
27Advances in Space ResearchElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 1.31Q1 | 3.01 0.56 up from 2020 | 1,527 | 36% | $2,780 | ||
28IcarusElsevier BV · United States | 1.30Q1 | 3.50 0.38 down from 2020 | 1,226 | 71% | $3,810 | ||
29Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical SocietyOAOxford University Press · United Kingdom | 1.20Q1 | 5.20 0.25 down from 2020 | 11,034 | 92% | $3,046 | ||
30Journal of High Energy AstrophysicsElsevier BV · Netherlands | 1.13Q1 | 2.58 0.67 down from 2020 | 51 | 100% | $2,520 | ||
31Annales GeophysicaeOACopernicus Publications · Germany | 1.10Q2 | 3.23 0.82 up from 2020 | 310 | 100% | $1,186 | ||
32Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2020: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter WavePublisher not listed | 1.06Q2 | 0.45no 2020 value | 124 | 25% | — | — | |
33General Relativity and GravitationSpringer Science+Business Media · Netherlands | 1.04Q2 | 2.63 0.10 up from 2020 | 425 | 79% | $2,290 | ||
34History of geo- and space sciencesOACopernicus Publications · Germany | 0.99Q2 | 3.29 2.70 up from 2020 | 47 | 100% | — | ||
35Meteoritics and Planetary ScienceWiley · United States | 0.98Q2 | 3.29 1.24 up from 2020 | 504 | 44% | $3,300 | ||
36Publications of the Astronomical Society of JapanOxford University Press · United Kingdom | 0.98Q2 | 3.19 0.16 down from 2020 | 454 | 77% | $2,398 | ||
37Journal of Geophysical Research Space PhysicsWiley · United States | 0.98Q2 | 3.49 0.41 up from 2020 | 2,155 | 49% | $4,070 | ||
38Solar PhysicsSpringer Science+Business Media · Netherlands | 0.95Q2 | 2.98 0.20 up from 2020 | 502 | 63% | $4,190 | ||
39Astronomy and ComputingElsevier BV · Netherlands | 0.94Q2 | 2.24 0.33 up from 2020 | 150 | 68% | $2,260 | ||
40Chinese Journal of PhysicsElsevier BV · Taiwan | 0.94Q2 | 4.25 0.83 up from 2020 | 952 | 10% | $2,000 | ||
41Planetary and Space ScienceElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 0.91Q2 | 2.43 0.34 up from 2020 | 548 | 52% | $3,680 | ||
42Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical AstronomySpringer Science+Business Media · Netherlands | 0.90Q2 | 1.53 0.27 down from 2020 | 193 | 69% | $3,190 | ||
43International Journal of Modern Physics DWorld Scientific · Singapore | 0.90Q2 | 2.52no change | 691 | 64% | — | ||
44Space PolicyElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 0.90Q2 | 2.80 0.50 up from 2020 | 89 | 29% | $3,400 | ||
45Contemporary PhysicsTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 0.86Q2 | 2.22 0.31 up from 2020 | 334 | 5% | — | ||
46Journal of Astronomical InstrumentationWorld Scientific · Singapore | 0.82Q2 | 0.83 0.82 down from 2020 | 78 | 68% | — | ||
47Experimental AstronomySpringer Science+Business Media · Netherlands | 0.81Q2 | 2.07 0.29 down from 2020 | 119 | 91% | $2,590 | ||
482018 2nd URSI Atlantic Radio Science Meeting (AT-RASC)Publisher not listed | 0.81Q2 | —no 2020 value | 330 | — | — | ||
49Geoscientific instrumentation, methods and data systemsOACopernicus Publications · Germany | 0.81Q2 | 2.39 0.36 up from 2020 | 90 | 100% | $1,035 | ||
50Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial PhysicsElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 0.80Q2 | 2.76 0.58 up from 2020 | 582 | 43% | $2,770 |
Subfields of Physics and Astronomy, with Astronomy and Astrophysics highlighted.
- Astronomy and Astrophysics117
- Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics103
- Nuclear and High Energy Physics76
- Statistical and Nonlinear Physics45
- Radiation29
- Condensed Matter Physics8
- Instrumentation1
- Acoustics and Ultrasonics0
Journals
Citations made in 2021. Corpus-wide, 87.7% of core-journal articles and reviews published that year have at least one matched reference; the share varies by journal and field.
30 additional Astronomy and Astrophysics journals with metrics are unranked under this release’s eligibility rules: a journal needs at least 30 citable documents in 2018–2020, at least 80% of them with a subfield, and a positive world-average expectation. Ranks are within the whole category; filters hide rows without re-ranking. OJR excludes self-citations.
At a glance
Indicator year: 2021. Publication window: 2018–2020. How these summaries are calculated
- Ranked journals
- 117
- Window papers (baseline)
- 100,324 -0.4% from indicator year 2018
- Median OJR
- 0.616 +20.1% from indicator year 2018
- Rising journals (2025)
- 7
Window papers are the baseline paper population: citable papers (articles, reviews and conference papers) from 2018–2020 in all journals of the world-average baseline, including non-core journals, counted by each paper’s own subfield. They are not the papers of the ranked journals alone.
| Measure | Year series | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranked journals | 62 | 63 | 62 | 68 | 70 | 74 | 74 | 76 | 78 | 78 | 82 | 91 | 94 | 99 | 102 | 102 | 107 | 106 | 108 | 116 | 119 | 117 | 111 | 110 | 109 | 107 | |
| Window papers (baseline) | 49,871 | 52,213 | 55,700 | 60,437 | 65,920 | 70,690 | 73,394 | 77,611 | 78,966 | 83,523 | 84,714 | 89,298 | 90,669 | 93,523 | 93,711 | 96,932 | 98,375 | 101,058 | 100,696 | 101,399 | 101,729 | 100,324 | 97,739 | 94,651 | 92,261 | 91,149 | |
| Median OJR | 0.385 | 0.41 | 0.526 | 0.386 | 0.44 | 0.455 | 0.529 | 0.52 | 0.48 | 0.567 | 0.525 | 0.505 | 0.50 | 0.38 | 0.36 | 0.451 | 0.454 | 0.49 | 0.513 | 0.54 | 0.585 | 0.616 | 0.56 | 0.617 | 0.565 | 0.590 |
How to read these rankings
- OJR, the OpenJournalRank Indicator
- A field-normalized 3-year citation impact, computed from OpenAlex with the NCI3 method. It divides the citations a journal’s papers received by the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so 1.00 is the world average and 2.00 means twice as many citations as expected. Because it is normalized, it can be compared across fields. Read the methodology
- Quartiles
- Q1 to Q4 split the ranked journals of the list you are viewing into four equal groups by OJR. A journal’s quartile depends on the list: the same journal can be Q1 in its subfield and Q2 among all journals.
- Impact factor (2-year)
- Citations per paper over a two-year window, counted from OpenAlex. It is easy to compare with familiar impact factors but is not field-normalized, so compare it only within a field. It is not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. Why it differs from the Journal Impact Factor
- Rank ranges
- Each rank in the latest year carries a likely range from 1,000 resamples of the journal’s papers. Where two journals’ ranges overlap, the data cannot tell them apart, so treat neighbouring ranks as ties.