Journal profile · Astronomy & Astrophysics
ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL
ISSN 0004-637X · eISSN 1538-4357 · IOP Publishing Ltd. · UNITED STATES · Biweekly · Founded 1895
ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL: CAS Zone 2 · Physics & Astronomy (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 5.64; fully open access; APC about USD 4,499; median 99 days to acceptance (189 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: fairly hard; 4,166 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
ASTROPHYSICAL 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 Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies, together about 36.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Astronomy and Astrophysics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Astrophysical Journal is the foremost research journal in the world devoted to recent developments, discoveries, and theories in astronomy and astrophysics.
Source: LetPub
Research area (LetPub): Astronomy & Astrophysics
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Stellar, planetary, and galactic studiesPhysics and Astronomy14.6%
- Astronomy and Astrophysical ResearchPhysics and Astronomy11.2%
- Astrophysics and Star Formation StudiesPhysics and Astronomy10.8%
- Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, PhenomenaPhysics and Astronomy9.4%
- Astrophysical Phenomena and ObservationsPhysics and Astronomy6.9%
- Solar and Space Plasma DynamicsPhysics and Astronomy6.6%
- Astro and Planetary SciencePhysics and Astronomy6.5%
- Gamma-ray bursts and supernovaePhysics and Astronomy6.5%
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 1 |
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: yesReview 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
- 5.64LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 9LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 2.19LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.18LetPub ·
- h-index
- 381LetPub ·
- h-index
- 699OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 98,499OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 5.56OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 33.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.94%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 4,124LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 135,141 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 3,503 | 3,503 | 2,964 |
| 2025 | 4,166 | 4,166 | 19,516 |
| 2024 | 3,834 | 3,834 | 41,452 |
| 2023 | 2,944 | 2,944 | 46,394 |
| 2022 | 3,345 | 3,345 | 66,184 |
| 2021 | 3,005 | 2,994 | 73,321 |
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
99 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 71 days – 156 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 40 days (189 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 147 days
- Sample
- 189 articles with submission and acceptance dates (8,898 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)
- about 1 monthLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly hardLetPub ·
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 accessOpenAlex
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,499 | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- IOP Publishing Ltd.
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Biweekly
- Founded
- 1895
- ISSN
- 0004-637X
- Electronic ISSN
- 1538-4357
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL
What CAS zone is ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, ASTROPHYSICAL 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 ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 5.64; CiteScore 9, h-index 699.
How long does peer review take at ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL?
Based on the dates recorded on 189 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 99 days (interquartile range 71–156 days); authors report an average review time of about 1 month; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly hard”. 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 ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL open access, and what is the APC?
ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 4,499.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex; 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: .