View source for Organization:Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

{{short description|Peer-reviewed scientific journal}}
{{Infobox journal
| title         = Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
| cover         = MNRAS cover.jpg
| caption       = Cover image of MNRAS in 2022
| formernames   = Monthly Notices of the Astronomical Society of London
| abbreviation  = Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc.
| nlm           = Mon Not R Astron Soc
| discipline    = [[Astronomy:Astronomy|Astronomy]], [[Physics:Astrophysics|astrophysics]]
| language      = English
| editor        = David Flower
| publisher     = [[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]] (since 2013)<ref name=oup>{{cite web|last1=Smith|first1=Keith|title=RAS journals to be published by Oxford University Press|url=https://www.ras.org.uk/news-and-press/219-news-2012/2140-ras-journals-to-be-published-by-oxford-university-press|publisher=Royal Astronomical Society|access-date=20 July 2017|language=en-gb|date=28 June 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180513224052/https://www.ras.org.uk/news-and-press/219-news-2012/2140-ras-journals-to-be-published-by-oxford-university-press|archive-date=13 May 2018}}</ref> on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society
| country       = {{wipe|United Kingdom}}
| history       = 1827–present
| frequency     = 36/year
| openaccess    = Hybrid and delayed
| license       = 
| impact        = 5.235{{cnl|date=August 2022}}
| impact-year   = 2021
| ISSNlabel     = 
| ISSN          = 0035-8711
| eISSN         = 1365-2966
| CODEN         = MNRAA4
| JSTOR         = 
| LCCN          = sf85001279
| OCLC          = 10340650
| website       = https://academic.oup.com/mnras/
| link1         = https://academic.oup.com/mnras/issue
| link1-name    = MNRAS online access
| link2         = https://academic.oup.com/mnrasl/
| link2-name    = MNRAS Letters online access
}}
'''''Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society''''' ('''''MNRAS''''') is a peer-reviewed [[Scientific journal|scientific journal]] covering research in [[Astronomy:Astronomy|astronomy]] and [[Physics:Astrophysics|astrophysics]]. It has been in continuous existence since 1827 and publishes letters and papers reporting original research in relevant fields. Despite the name, the journal is no longer monthly, nor does it carry the notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.<ref name=ag2008>
{{cite journal
| bibcode = 2008A&G....49e..14C
| title = Monthly Notices of the RAS
| last1 = Carswell
| first1 = Bob
| last2 = Clube
| first2 = Kim
| volume = 49
| issue = 5
| date = 2008
| pages = 14
| journal = Astronomy & Geophysics
| doi = 10.1111/j.1468-4004.2008.49514.x| doi-access = free
}}
</ref> MNRAS publishes more articles per year than any other astronomy journal.<ref name=number_papers/>

==History==
The first issue of MNRAS was published on 9 February 1827 as ''Monthly Notices of the Astronomical Society of London'' and it has been in continuous publication ever since. It took its current name from the second volume, after the Astronomical Society of London became the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS). Until 1960 it carried the monthly notices of the RAS, at which time these were transferred to the newly established ''Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society'' (1960–1996) and then to its successor journal ''Astronomy & Geophysics'' (since 1997). Until 1965, MNRAS was published in-house by the society; from 1965 to 2012 it was published by [[Company:Wiley-Blackwell|Blackwell Publishing]] (later part of [[Company:Wiley-Blackwell|Wiley-Blackwell]]) on behalf of the RAS. From 2013, MNRAS is published by [[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]] (OUP).<ref name=oup/>

The journal is no longer monthly, with thirty-six issues a year divided into nine volumes.  The Letters section had originally appeared on pink paper in the print edition, but moved online only in the early 2000s. Print publication ceased after the April 2020 volume, during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the journal becoming online-only.<ref name=online>{{cite web |title=MNRAS moves online-only after almost 200 years of print {{!}} The Royal Astronomical Society |url=https://ras.ac.uk/journals/journal-news/mnras-moves-online-only-after-almost-200-years-print |publisher=Royal Astronomical Society |access-date=11 June 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

==Content==
MNRAS publishes peer-reviewed articles on original research in astronomy and astrophysics. Two sorts of article are carried by MNRAS: papers, which can be of any length, and letters, which are published more quickly but are limited to five pages in length. Editorial control of the journal is exercised by the RAS through an editorial board of professional astronomers; {{As of|July 2012|since=y|lc=y}}, the [[Social:Editor-in-chief|editor-in-chief]] has been David Flower (University of Durham).<ref name=new_eic_2012>
{{cite web
| title = New MNRAS Editor-in-Chief
| url = http://www.ras.org.uk/news-and-press/219-news-2012/2139-new-mnras-editor-in-chief
| publisher = Royal Astronomical Society
| access-date = 2 July 2012
| date = 2 July 2012
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141216232609/http://www.ras.org.uk/news-and-press/219-news-2012/2139-new-mnras-editor-in-chief
| archive-date = 16 December 2014}}
</ref>

In 2022 MNRAS published 3441 articles, more than any other astronomy journal.<ref name=number_papers>{{cite web |title= Journal Rankings on Astronomy and Astrophysics |website=Scimago Journal & Country Rank |url=https://www.scimagojr.com/journalrank.php?category=3103&order=item&ord=desc |access-date=21 December 2023}}</ref>

==Open access==
The stated policy of the RAS is "to focus on high quality papers through rigorous peer review and, as far as practicable, to provide free publication". Authors are not charged for publishing in MNRAS, with the costs of publications being met by subscriptions. MNRAS provides a form of open access by providing authors with the option to pay for publication, allowing free access by anyone without charge (hybrid open-access model). Fellows of the RAS are given free online access to the RAS journals as part of their membership benefits.<ref>{{cite web
| last = Elliott
| first = David
| date = 25 May 2006
| title = EU study on scientific publications – RAS response
| publisher = Royal Astronomical Society
| url = http://www.ras.org.uk/images/stories/ras_pdfs/publications/EU%20study%20on%20scientific%20publications%20-%20RAS%20response%20May%2006.pdf
| access-date = 2007-07-21
}}</ref> Downloadable [[PDF]] versions of MNRAS articles are made available 36 months after publication (delayed open-access model), on both the journal website and the [[Physics:Astrophysics Data System|Astrophysics Data System]]. MNRAS also permits [[Self-archiving|self-archiving]] by authors on personal webpages, in [[Institutional repository|institutional repositories]], and on the [[ArXiv|arXiv]] server (green open access). Also, authors are provided with a link to a perpetually freely accessible PDF file, the idea being that the file itself should not be hosted by the author nor by anyone except the publisher, while the link to it can be freely distributed. This is the modern equivalent of offprints, paper copies of the article which used to be provided to the author to distribute, freely, as he or she saw fit. Authors do not assign [[Copyright|copyright]] to the RAS or OUP, but are required to grant an exclusive licence to publish the article prior to its publication.<ref>
{{cite web
| title = Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society – Journal Information
| publisher = [[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]]
| url = https://academic.oup.com/mnras/pages/About
| access-date = 2022-07-21
}}</ref>

== Editors-in-chief ==
{{incomplete list|date=July 2012}}
The following persons have served as Editor-in-Chief (formerly titled Managing Editor or simply Editor):
*David Flower (2012–present)<ref name=new_eic_2012/>
*Robert Carswell (2008–2012)<ref name=ag2008/><ref name=new_eic_2012/>
*Andy Fabian (1994–2008)<ref name=ag2008/>
*John Shakeshaft (?–1994)
*Roger Tayler (1979<ref name="Tayler, p. 201">Tayler, p. 201</ref>–?)<ref name=tayler_obit/>
*''Function performed by the Secretaries of the RAS Council'' (1881<ref name="Dreyer, p. 239">Dreyer, p. 239</ref>–1979)<ref name="Tayler, p. 201"/>
*[[Biography:Arthur Cayley|Arthur Cayley]] (1874–1881)<ref name=dreyerp187>Dreyer, p. 187</ref>
*Richard Proctor (1872–1874)<ref name="Dreyer, p. 239"/>
*[[Biography:Arthur Cayley|Arthur Cayley]] (1860–1872)<ref name="dreyerp187"/>
*Robert Grant (?–1881)<ref name=dreyerp187/>
*Richard Sheepshanks

== Abstracting and indexing ==
The journal is abstracted and indexed in:
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* Academic Search
* Advanced Polymers Abstracts
* Aerospace & High Technology Database
* [[Physics:Astrophysics Data System|Astrophysics Data System]]
* Ceramic Abstracts
* Computer & Information Systems Abstracts
* CSA Civil Engineering Abstracts (ProQuest)
* CSA Mechanical & Transportation Engineering Abstracts
* CSA Technology Research Database
* Current Contents/Physical, Chemical & Earth Sciences
* Current Index to Statistics
* Earthquake Engineering Abstracts
* Engineered Materials Abstracts
* [[Software:InfoTrac|InfoTrac]]
* [[Inspec]]
* International Aerospace Abstracts & Database
* Materials Business File
* METADEX
* Meteorological & Geoastrophysical Abstracts
* Science Citation Index
* [[Scopus]]
* VINITI Database RAS
}}
==See also==
*''[[Astronomy:The Astronomical Journal|The Astronomical Journal]]''
*''[[Astronomy:The Astrophysical Journal|The Astrophysical Journal]]''
*''Astronomy & Astrophysics''
*''Astronomy & Geophysics''

==References==
=== Citations ===
{{reflist|colwidth=25em|refs=

<ref name=tayler_obit>
{{cite journal|bibcode=1997BASI...25..143M|title=A tribute to Roger J. Tayler (25 October 1929 – 23 January 1997)|last1=Mestel|first1=L.|volume=25|date=1997|pages=143|journal=Bulletin of the Astronomical Society of India|issue=1}}
</ref>

}}

===Works cited===
*{{cite book | editor1-last = Dreyer | editor1-first = John L. E. |editor1-link=John Louis Emil Dreyer | editor2-last = Turner | editor2-first = Herbert H. |editor2-link=Herbert Hall Turner | title = History of the Royal Astronomical Society: Volume 1, 1820–1920 | publisher = Royal Astronomical Society | date = 1923 | location = London }}
*{{cite book|editor1-last=Tayler|editor1-first=Roger|editor1-link=Roger Tayler|title=History of the Royal Astronomical Society: Volume 2, 1920–1980|date=1987|publisher=Royal Astronomical Society|location = London}}

== External links ==


{{DEFAULTSORT:Monthly Notices Of The Royal Astronomical Society}}
[[Category:Astronomy journals]]

{{Sourceattribution|Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society}}