Journal profile · Astronomy & Astrophysics
Solar Physics
ISSN 0038-0938 · eISSN 1573-093X · Springer Netherlands · NETHERLANDS · Monthly · Founded 1967
Solar Physics: CAS Zone 3 · Physics & Astronomy (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.36; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,190; median 122 days to acceptance (101 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: fairly easy; 181 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Solar Physics is published by Springer Netherlands and is in Zone 3 of Physics & Astronomy in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics, Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics and Astro and Planetary Science, together about 59.4% of its articles. Its main subfields are Astronomy and Astrophysics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Solar Physics was founded in 1967 and is the principal journal for the publication of the results of fundamental research on the Sun. The journal treats all aspects of solar physics, ranging from the internal structure of the Sun and its evolution to the outer corona and solar wind in interplanetary space. Articles on solar-terrestrial physics and on stellar research are also published when their results have a direct bearing on our understanding of the Sun. That is, results of solar−terrestrial physics are included if they are clearly related to the physics of the Sun or if they use terrestrial phenomena as indicators of solar activity. Articles on stellar research as long as their results have a direct impact upon the understanding of the Sun, its structure and activity, or when solar observations are used when interpreting stellar data. Proceedings of conferences are not published in Solar Physics. However, some issues of the journal may be Topical Collections that are concerned with a specific subject selected by the editors and, in some cases, may contain papers presented at a monothematic conference. All papers submitted to such a collection are handled and refereed in the same way as regular research papers. Contrary to proceedings, the length of such papers is not limited, and other papers related to the same topic, not presented at the conference, can be added to the issue. Article Types Solar Physics publishes original research articles, reviews, and perspectives: The Research article type denotes a complete, comprehensive report of original research. The Review article type denotes an authoritative, balanced, and scholarly survey aimed at informing a broad readership of developments in a field in which there have been recent, important advances. The Perspective article type denotes a scholarly review and discussion of the primary research literature that does not meet the criteria for a review article. This could be because the scope is too narrow, or because the piece is intended to provoke discussion of a controversial position, a speculative hypothesis, or alternative interpretations of existing work.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Astronomy & Astrophysics
Editor-in-chief Iñigo ArreguiPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 5, United Kingdom 3, Netherlands 2, Japan 1, Spain 1 (15 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Solar and Space Plasma DynamicsPhysics and Astronomy34.3%
- Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamicsPhysics and Astronomy16%
- Astro and Planetary SciencePhysics and Astronomy9.1%
- Stellar, planetary, and galactic studiesPhysics and Astronomy9%
- Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism StudiesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology7.9%
- Geophysics and Gravity MeasurementsEarth and Planetary Sciences4.5%
- Solar Radiation and PhotovoltaicsComputer Science3.9%
- Magnetic confinement fusion researchPhysics and Astronomy2%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Physics & Astronomy Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Astronomy & Astrophysics | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Physics & Astronomy Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Astronomy & Astrophysics | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Physics & Astronomy Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Physics & Astronomy | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Astronomy & Astrophysics | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
INSPECCASCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Astrophysics Data System, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
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
- 2.36LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.4Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.1LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.67LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.02LetPub ·
- h-index
- 108LetPub ·
- h-index
- 201OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 7,008OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.69OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 20.8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 38.81%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 175LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 614,700Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 12,508 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 147 | 91 | 67 |
| 2025 | 181 | 97 | 468 |
| 2024 | 169 | 85 | 803 |
| 2023 | 148 | 89 | 1,105 |
| 2022 | 158 | 101 | 1,418 |
| 2021 | 189 | 120 | 2,758 |
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
122 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 94 days – 184 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 22 days (104 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 149 days
- Sample
- 101 articles with submission and acceptance dates (357 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)
- 3–6 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly easyLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 6 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
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
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,190 / EUR 3,190 / GBP 2,790 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
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)
Open calls for papers3, by deadline
Publisher websiteWhat to prepare6 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 300 words
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- Templates
- LaTeX and Word
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- Authorship Authorship principles
These guidelines describe authorship principles and good authorship practices to which prospective authors should adhere to. Authorship clarified The Journal and Publisher assume all authors agreed with the content and that all gave explicit consent to submit and that they obtained consent from the responsible authorities at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out, before th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosures and declarations
All authors are requested to include information regarding sources of funding, financial or non-financial interests, study-specific approval by the appropriate ethics committee for research involving humans and/or animals, informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved animals (as appropriate). The decision whether such …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability statements
All original research must include a data availability statement. This statement should explain how to access data supporting the results and analysis in the article, including links/citations to publicly archived datasets analysed or generated during the study. Please see our full policy here. If it is not possible to share research data publicly, for instance when individual privacy could be com…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Compliance with Ethical Standards
To ensure objectivity and transparency in research and to ensure that accepted principles of ethical and professional conduct have been followed, authors should include information regarding sources of funding, potential conflicts of interest (financial or non-financial), informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved an…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Open Choice articles do not require transfer of copyright as the copyright remains with the author. In opting for open access, the author(s) agree to publish the article under a Creative Commons license. Details of the OA licences offered to authors can be found on the individual journal website, in the journal's How to publish with us guide. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Solar Physics, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Referees evaluate within three weeks (six weeks max); authors have three months max for revision. Model summary
Referees are asked to evaluate a paper within three weeks (with six weeks as a maximum) and authors are given three months as the maximum for a paper revision.
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
- Springer Netherlands
- Country or region
- NETHERLANDS
- Language
- Multi-Language
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1967
- ISSN
- 0038-0938
- Electronic ISSN
- 1573-093X
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Solar Physics
What CAS zone is Solar Physics in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Solar Physics is in Zone 3 of Physics & Astronomy, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Astronomy & Astrophysics. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Physics & Astronomy. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Solar Physics?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.36; CiteScore 4.1, h-index 201.
How long does peer review take at Solar Physics?
Based on the dates recorded on 101 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 122 days (interquartile range 94–184 days); authors report an average review time of 3–6 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.
What are the manuscript requirements of Solar Physics?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 300 words; Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation; Templates: LaTeX and Word; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Solar Physics based?
Of the 15 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (5), United Kingdom (3) and Netherlands (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Solar Physics?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Solar Physics is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists INSPEC, CAS and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Solar Physics open access, and what is the APC?
Solar Physics is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,190.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, 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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .