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.[5] As of 2020, it was published both in print and electronically.[6]
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. The editorial committee determines which topics should be included in each volume and solicits reviews from qualified authors.[8] Unsolicited manuscripts are not accepted. Peer review of accepted manuscripts is undertaken by the editorial committee.[9]
Editors of volumes
Dates indicate publication years in which someone was credited as a lead editor or co-editor of a journal volume. The planning process for a volume begins well before the volume appears, so appointment to the position of lead editor generally occurred prior to the first year shown here. An editor who has retired or died may be credited as a lead editor of a volume that they helped to plan, even if it is published after their retirement or death.
