Astronomy & Astrophysics

What Astronomy & Astrophysics does

Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A) is a peer-reviewed scientific journal founded in 1969 and headquartered in Paris, France, that publishes original research across all areas of astronomy and astrophysics. The journal produces 12 volumes per year under a Subscribe to Open (S2O) model introduced in 2022, whereby library subscription renewals fund CC-BY 4.0 open access publication of all accepted articles. A&A is governed by an international Board of Directors representing 27 sponsoring countries plus the European Southern Observatory (ESO, which holds the copyright) and observer partners Georgia and Uruguay. Editorial leadership comprises Editor-in-Chief Thierry Forveille (since 2012), Letters Editor-in-Chief João Alves, and Managing Editor David Elbaz (since 2018); all are practicing academic astronomers.

The journal's core technology is its end-to-end publishing platform, delivered through the A&A Nestor submission system, a Writing Studio hosted on AWS, LaTeX macro packages, language editing services, and distribution via EDP Sciences (based in Les Ulis, France, which handles subscription management, production, marketing, and distribution). Content is delivered in PDF, ePUB, and Full HTML formats, with dedicated special-issue venues for flagship ESA missions including Euclid, Gaia, Planck, Solar Orbiter, Herschel, and XMM-Newton. A Review Articles format was introduced in January 2025. Single-blind peer review is conducted by expert astronomers with editorial independence from sponsoring-country governments.

A&A's revenue model comprises institutional library subscriptions (4,009 EUR for 2026), individual subscriptions (225 EUR annually, restricted to members of subscribing institutes), sponsoring-country institutional contributions, and modest page charges for non-sponsoring-country authors. Customers are academic astronomers globally (nearly 3,000 participated in the 2025 community survey across 69 countries), subscribing research institutions, and ESA as a strategic mission-partner. The journal operates as a non-profit consortium rather than a corporate entity and is not publicly traded. Distribution is primarily direct-to-library under subscription contracts administered through EDP Sciences.

Name

Astronomy & Astrophysics

Legal name

Astronomy & Astrophysics

Website

https://aanda.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A) is a Paris-based peer-reviewed scientific journal founded in 1969 that publishes 12 volumes per year of original astronomy and astrophysics research under a Subscribe to Open model. It is governed by 27 sponsoring countries plus ESO and distributed by EDP Sciences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Journal Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (513130)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Academic & Scholarly Journals Publishing (Peer-Reviewed) (MPAJABAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

STM Publishing (Science, Technical & Medical) (MPAJABAD), Open Access Scholarly Journals & Monographs (EDAGAFAJ)

Keywords

• Scientific journal publishing
• Astronomy research
• Astrophysics publications
• Peer review services
• Open access publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Institutional Subscriptions: Libraries and research institutions subscribe to access the journal content. Subscriptions are the primary revenue source that funds open access publication under the S2O model. Institutional subscription rates are 4009 EUR for European and rest-of-world institutions for 2026.
2. Individual Subscriptions: Individual subscription rate is 225 EUR annually, available only to members of institutes with full-price institutional subscriptions.
3. Page Charges: Authors from non-sponsoring countries pay modest page charges to help cover editorial costs. Authors from sponsoring countries publish open access at no cost and only pay page charges if their article exceeds the page cap.
4. Subscribe to Open (S2O) Model: If subscriptions are renewed and sufficient support is received, all articles accepted in that year are published open access. This conditional open access model has been successful since 2022, with content remaining open access through 2026.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Astronomy & Astrophysics is an international peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes original research papers, letters, and review articles across all areas of astronomy and astrophysics. It is published by EDP Sciences under copyright held by ESO and has operated under the Subscribe to Open (S2O) open-access model since 2022, with editorial direction set by an international Board of Directors representing 27 sponsoring countries.

Product overview

Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A) is a peer-reviewed scientific journal publishing original research in all areas of astronomy and astrophysics. The journal operates under a Subscribe to Open (S2O) model since 2022, making all accepted articles open access under CC-BY 4.0 license when subscriptions are sufficient. The journal produces 12 volumes per year, including a dedicated Letters section for rapid communications, and introduced Review Articles in 2025 as a new format. The journal provides various author services including the Nestor submission system, Writing Studio tool, LaTeX macro packages, and language editing services. Content is distributed across multiple formats including PDF, ePUB, and Full HTML, with special issues dedicated to major astronomical missions and discoveries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Astronomy & Astrophysics Journal International peer-reviewed scientific journal publishing original research papers across all areas of astronomy and astrophysics for a global readership of researchers, librarians, and institutions.
• A&A Letters Rapid-publication section of A&A providing short, fast-turnaround communications of high-impact astronomy and astrophysics findings for researchers needing timely dissemination.
• A&A Review Articles New review article format launched in January 2025, offering invited and contributed review articles surveying major astronomy and astrophysics topics for the research community.
• A&A Special Issues Themed special issues of the A&A journal that aggregate research articles around defined topics in astronomy and astrophysics for targeted reader communities.
• Subscribe to Open (S2O) Access Open-access transition model adopted in 2022 under which renewed institutional subscriptions convert the entire journal to open access for a year when subscription revenue thresholds are met, decoupling open access from author-side article processing charges.
• A&A Language Editing Service Fee-based English language editing service offered to authors submitting manuscripts to A&A, supporting non-native English authors in preparing publication-ready text.

Quantifiable outcome

• Impact Factor 6.1 (2025), placing A&A at the head of leading journals for original research in astronomy and astrophysics
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• EDP SciencescoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerEDP Sciences is the publisher and distributor of Astronomy & Astrophysics. Located at 17, avenue du Hoggar, Parc d'activités de Courtaboeuf, 91944 Les Ulis Cedex, France. They handle subscription management, production, marketing, and distribution of the journal. EDP Sciences also manages the Subscribe to Open program and provides various business services including customer support for institutional and individual subscribers.
• European Southern Observatory (ESO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerESO owns the copyright of the journal through the Board of Directors. ESO is a key stakeholder in the governance of A&A, with the journal's Board of Directors setting policies including general guidelines for publishing, selection of Editors, financial aspects, and membership of new countries. ESO also has a representative (M. Hilker) on the Board of Directors as a Non-Sponsoring Partner.
• European Space Agency (ESA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerESA is a major partner as A&A publishes research from ESA missions including Solar Orbiter, Gaia, Planck, Herschel, XMM-Newton, and Euclid. The journal regularly publishes special issues dedicated to ESA mission results and data releases, including Euclid Quick Data Release (Q1), Solar Orbiter First Results, Gaia Data Releases, and Planck results.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Astronomical Journal (AJ): AJ is a peer-reviewed astronomy journal published by IOP Publishing for the American Astronomical Society. It overlaps with A&A on observational astronomy research and shares a similar author community.
• Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics (JCAP): JCAP is a peer-reviewed journal covering cosmology and astroparticle physics, jointly published by IOP Publishing and SISSA. It overlaps with A&A on a high-energy/theoretical subset of astrophysics.
• Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (PASP): PASP is a peer-reviewed astronomy journal published by IOP Publishing on behalf of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. It shares A&A's broad astronomy scope but with a smaller volume and a more US-centric readership.
• Acta Astronomica: Acta Astronomica is a peer-reviewed astronomy journal published by Copernicus Foundation. It is a smaller, more specialized direct peer in original astronomy research with similar community-led governance roots.
• The Astrophysical Journal (ApJ): ApJ is one of the leading peer-reviewed astronomy and astrophysics journals, published by IOP Publishing for the American Astronomical Society. It is the most direct head-to-head competitor to A&A in original research astronomy publishing.
• Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS): MNRAS is a major peer-reviewed astronomy journal published by Oxford University Press for the Royal Astronomical Society. It serves a similar global astronomer audience and competes directly with A&A for original research submissions.

Others

• EDP Sciences: EDP Sciences is A&A's publisher and distributor, handling subscription management, production, and marketing. It is not a competitive peer but a core operational partner whose own strategic direction materially affects A&A's go-to-market.
• European Southern Observatory (ESO): ESO owns the copyright of A&A and sits on its Board of Directors as a non-sponsoring partner. As the operator of major observing facilities whose data populates A&A's pages, ESO is an enabling ecosystem participant rather than a competitor.

Broad incumbents

• Nature Astronomy: Nature Astronomy is a high-impact, selective astronomy journal published by Springer Nature. It competes for the most prestigious astronomy papers and has a substantially higher Impact Factor than A&A, posing a prestige ceiling.

Emerging players

• Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics: Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics publishes invited review articles across the field. It is comparable to A&A's new Review Articles format introduced in 2025 and competes for high-level synthesis content.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AandA_journal

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Astronomy & Astrophysics