Journal profile · Astronomy & Astrophysics
ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL
ISSN 0004-6256 · eISSN 1538-3881 · IOP Publishing Ltd. · UNITED STATES · Monthly · Founded 1849
ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL: CAS Zone 2 · Physics & Astronomy (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 5.73; fully open access; APC about USD 3,162; median 89 days to acceptance (134 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: fairly easy; 711 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL is published by IOP Publishing Ltd. and is in Zone 2 of Physics & Astronomy in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies, Astronomy and Astrophysical Research and Astro and Planetary Science, together about 48.2% of its articles. Its main subfields are Astronomy and Astrophysics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Astronomical Journal publishes original astronomical research, with an emphasis on significant scientific results derived from observations. Publications in AJ include descriptions of data capture, surveys, analysis techniques, astronomical interpretation, instrumentation, and software and computing.
Source: LetPub
Research area (LetPub): Astronomy & Astrophysics
Editor-in-chief Ethan VishniacPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Stellar, planetary, and galactic studiesPhysics and Astronomy20.8%
- Astronomy and Astrophysical ResearchPhysics and Astronomy15.9%
- Astro and Planetary SciencePhysics and Astronomy11.5%
- Astrophysics and Star Formation StudiesPhysics and Astronomy10%
- Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, PhenomenaPhysics and Astronomy6.6%
- Astronomical Observations and InstrumentationEngineering5.1%
- History and Developments in AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy4.7%
- Gamma-ray bursts and supernovaePhysics and Astronomy3.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Physics & Astronomy Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Astronomy & Astrophysics | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Physics & Astronomy Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Astronomy & Astrophysics | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Physics & Astronomy Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Astronomy & Astrophysics | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 5.73LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 8.6LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.97LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.15LetPub ·
- h-index
- 218LetPub ·
- h-index
- 355OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 15,900OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 5.2OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 20.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 699LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 32,898 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 552 | 552 | 756 |
| 2025 | 711 | 711 | 2,861 |
| 2024 | 601 | 601 | 6,081 |
| 2023 | 553 | 553 | 9,497 |
| 2022 | 557 | 557 | 10,742 |
| 2021 | 594 | 588 | 15,750 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
89 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 65 days – 141 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 35 days (134 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 130 days
- Sample
- 134 articles with submission and acceptance dates (1,430 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- 2–4 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly easyLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 14 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer review, Single anonymous peer review, Unspecified peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | GBP 2,356 / EUR 2,727 / USD 3,162 | Yes | CC BY | |
| OpenAlex | USD 4,499 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websitePublication ethics, Open access
- Publication ethics
Original research not published previously; not under consideration elsewhere. Model summary
Papers published in the journals of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) present the results of significant original research that have not been published previously. Manuscripts submitted to the journals should meet this criterion and must not be under consideration for publication elsewhere.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access AAS Journals Fully Open Access in 2022
In keeping with our mission, the entire AAS journals portfolio was made freely accessible as of 1 January 2022. Read more.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- IOP Publishing Ltd.
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1849
- ISSN
- 0004-6256
- Electronic ISSN
- 1538-3881
- Official links
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL
What CAS zone is ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL is in Zone 2 of Physics & Astronomy, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Astronomy & Astrophysics. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Physics & Astronomy. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 5.73; CiteScore 8.6, h-index 355.
How long does peer review take at ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL?
Based on the dates recorded on 134 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 89 days (interquartile range 65–141 days); authors report an average review time of 2–4 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly easy”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Which databases index ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL open access, and what is the APC?
ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 3,162.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-28). Last updated: .