Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics

The Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics is an annual peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Annual Reviews. The co-editors are Ewine van Dishoeck and Robert C. Kennicutt. The journal reviews scientific literature pertaining to local and distant celestial entities throughout the observable universe, as well as cosmology, instrumentation, techniques, and the history of developments. It was established in 1963. In November 1960, the board of directors of the nonprofit publisher Annual Reviews began investigating the need for a new journal of review articles that covered developments in astronomy and astrophysics. The board consulted an advisory group of experts, including Ronald Bracewell, Robert Jastrow, Joseph Kaplan, Paul Merrill, Otto Struve, and Harold Urey. The editorial committee met in August 1961 to determine the authors and topics for the first volume, which was published in 1963. As of 2020, it was published both in print and electronically. It defines its scope as covering significant developments in astronomy and astrophysics, including the Sun, the Solar System, exoplanets, stars, the interstellar medium, the Milky Way and other galaxies, galactic nuclei, cosmology, and the instrumentation and techniques used for research and analysis. As of 2023, Journal Citation Reports gives the journal an impact factor of 33.3, ranking it first out of 69 journals in the category "Astronomy and Astrophysics". It is abstracted and indexed in Scopus, Science Citation Index Expanded, Civil Engineering Abstracts, Inspec, and Academic Search, among others. The Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics is led by the editor or co-editors. They are is assisted by the editorial committee, which includes associate editors, regular members, and occasionally guest editors. Guest members participate at the invitation of the editor, and serve terms of one year. All other members of the editorial committee are appointed by the Annual Reviews board of directors and serve five-year terms.