About the Journal

Aims and Scope

The aim of the International Journal of Advanced Astronomy (IJAA) (E-ISSN: 2312-7414) is to provide fast publication of refereed, high quality original research papers in all areas of astronomy and astrophysics.

The journal publishes original papers including but not limited to the following fields:

Astrogeodynamics

Astrophysics

Cosmic Rays and Gamma Astronomy

Dynamics of Celestial Bodies in the Solar System and Artificial Bodies

Extrasolar Planets

Formation and Evolution of Galaxies and Their Clusters

Formation and Evolution of Stars

Heliospheric Physics

High-Energy and Cataclysmic Processes in Astrophysics

Interstellar Matter

Interstellar Medium: Star Formation Regions

Kinematics and Structure of the Galaxy

Large-Scale Structure of Universe Formation and Evolution of Galaxies

Last stages of Stellar Evolution and Chemical Evolution of the Galaxy

Magnetospheric Physics

Microquasars and High-Energy Astrophysics

Neutron Astronomy

New Astronomical Techniques and Methods

Planets, Comets, Asteroids and Dust

Pulsar Magnetospheres

Solar and Stellar Physics

Solar Magnetic Activity and Heliogeospace Environments

Solar/Interstellar Terrestrial Relations

Solar-Terrestrial Physics and Space Weather

Space Observation and Exploration

Supernovae and Evolution of the Universe

Peer Review Process

The journal is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity and quality through a rigorous, transparent, and efficient peer review process. The following outlines the steps and policies governing the peer review process:

1. Initial Manuscript Screening

All submitted manuscripts undergo an initial screening by the assigned editor, who evaluates the submission for:
- Originality: The manuscript must present novel findings or significant contributions to the field.
- Relevance: The manuscript must align with the journal’s aims and scope.
- Quality: The manuscript should demonstrate a sound methodology, clear presentation, and proper language use.
Manuscripts that fail to meet these basic criteria may be desk-rejected at this stage. The editor will provide constructive feedback to the authors, outlining the reasons for rejection (e.g., lack of originality, poor grammar, or misalignment with the journal’s scope).

2. Assignment to Reviewers

If the manuscript passes the initial screening, it is assigned to 2–5 external reviewers with expertise in the relevant field. Reviewers are selected based on:
- Subject matter expertise.
- Availability and willingness to review within the specified timeframe.
- Absence of conflicts of interest.
The journal uses a single-blind peer review process, where reviewers know the identity of the authors, but authors do not have access to reviewer identities.

3. Review Timeline

Reviewers are given 4–8 weeks to evaluate the manuscript and submit their reports. Extensions may be granted in special circumstances, but timely reviews are encouraged to ensure an efficient editorial process.

4. Reviewer Evaluation Criteria

Reviewers are required to evaluate the manuscript based on the following criteria:

Originality and Contribution: Does the manuscript provide new insights or significant contributions to the field?
Methodological Rigor: Are the research design, methods, and analysis appropriate and well-executed?
Clarity and Structure: Is the manuscript well-organized, clearly written, and professionally presented?
Relevance: Does the manuscript align with the journal’s scope and address important research questions?
Ethical Standards: Does the manuscript adhere to ethical guidelines (e.g., research involving human or animal subjects)?
References and Citations: Are references accurate, relevant, and properly cited?

Reviewers will submit their recommendations along with detailed comments to the editor. Recommendations can include one of the following:

Accept: The manuscript is suitable for publication with no or minimal changes.
Consider after Minor Changes: The manuscript requires minor revisions before it can be accepted.
Consider after Major Changes: The manuscript requires significant revisions and will undergo further review after resubmission.
Reject: The manuscript is not suitable for publication.

5. Editorial Decision

Once all reviewers have submitted their reports, the editor evaluates the feedback and makes an editorial recommendation based on the reviewers’ input and their own assessment of the manuscript. The possible editorial decisions are:

Publish: The manuscript is accepted for publication.
Consider after Minor Changes: The authors are asked to submit a revised manuscript addressing minor issues identified by the reviewers. The editor reviews the revised manuscript to ensure the changes are satisfactory.
Consider after Major Changes: The authors are asked to revise the manuscript based on significant feedback. The revised manuscript may be sent back to the original reviewers or assessed by the editor for further evaluation.
Reject: The manuscript is rejected due to insufficient quality, lack of originality, or misalignment with the journal’s scope.

If two or more reviewers recommend rejection, the manuscript will be automatically rejected.

6. Revision Process

For manuscripts requiring revisions, authors are provided with detailed feedback from the reviewers and editor. Authors are expected to:
- Address all comments and suggestions thoroughly.
- Highlight changes made to the manuscript in a detailed response letter.
Revised manuscripts must be submitted within the specified timeframe (typically 2–4 weeks for minor revisions and 4–8 weeks for major revisions). Extensions may be granted upon request.

7. Final Acceptance

Once the editor is satisfied that all reviewer comments have been addressed and the manuscript meets the journal’s quality standards, the manuscript is accepted for publication.
Accepted manuscripts undergo a final editorial check for formatting, grammar, and adherence to journal guidelines before publication.

8. Transparency and Ethical Standards

The journal follows COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines to ensure ethical practices in peer review and publication.
Reviewers are required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest and must decline to review if a conflict exists.
Authors are required to confirm that their work adheres to ethical standards, including obtaining necessary approvals for research involving human or animal subjects.

9. Reviewer Recognition and Feedback

The journal values the contributions of its reviewers and recognizes their efforts through:
- Acknowledgment in the journal’s annual report or website.
- Certificates of appreciation for completed reviews.
- Opportunities to join the journal’s editorial board based on consistent, high-quality reviews.
Reviewers are encouraged to provide constructive feedback that helps authors improve their work, even if the manuscript is ultimately rejected.

10. Continuous Improvement

The journal regularly reviews and updates its peer review policies to ensure alignment with international standards and best practices.
Feedback from reviewers, authors, and editors is used to refine the review process and improve efficiency and quality.

Open Access Policy:

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

Archiving:

This journal utilizes the LOCKSS system to create a distributed archiving system among participating libraries and permits those libraries to create permanent archives of the journal for purposes of preservation and restoration. More...

Copyright:

This is an open-access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author.

Open-access authors retain the copyrights of their papers, and all open-access articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is properly cited.

The use of general descriptive names, trade names, trademarks, and so forth in this publication, even if not specifically identified, does not imply that the relevant laws and regulations do not protect these names.

While the advice and information in this journal are believed to be true and accurate on the date of its going to press, neither the authors, the editors, nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein.

Reasons to Publish:

Why publish with Science Publishing Corporation?

Science Publishing Corporation is an ideal outlet for the publication of your significant research findings. Science Publishing Corporation's goal is to ease the whole publication process by offering excellent services and expertise.

Rapid publication

Online submission, electronic peer review, and production make the process of publishing your article simple and efficient.

Online submission system

An efficient, easy, and user-friendly online submission system reduces the overall time from submission to publication.

No space constraints

Publishing online means unlimited space for figures, extensive data, and video footage.

Included in all major bibliographic databases

All articles published in Science Publishing Corporation's journals are included in all major bibliographic databases so that your work can be found easily and cited by researchers around the world.

Global coverage

Authoritative articles from around the world give you a truly global perspective on the subjects that matter to you.

Peer-reviewed, high-impact research

Make the right decisions with confidence while knowing that our trustworthy and authoritative content is widely cited by your peers.

Promotion of your articles

Articles are widely promoted through email updates, table of contents, email alerts, postings on the Science Publishing Corporation homepage, and press releases to the general and scientific press - all resulting in increasing levels of access for each article. Science Publishing Corporation journals are also promoted at many major scientific conferences to bring your work to the attention of professionals in your field. You can also promote your article via your own email lists, online links, listserves, distribution at conferences, and any other innovative techniques you wish to adopt.

You retain the copyright, licensing the article

This means that your article can be freely redistributed and reused by yourself and others as long as the article is correctly attributed. For example, your published article can be posted on your personal or institutional homepage, emailed to friends and colleagues, printed and sent to as many people as you wish, archived in a collection, distributed on CD-ROM, included in course packs, quoted in the press, translated and further distributed as often and widely as possible.

High visibility and international readership in your field

Our open access policy ensures high visibility and maximum exposure for your work - anyone with online access can read your article.

From broad to specialist interest journals

Whether you wish to publish in a broad interest or specialist interest journal, Science Publishing Corporation offers an open-access journal to suit your manuscript.

Plagiarism Policy:

Plagiarism is a serious violation of academic integrity and publishing ethics. It involves the unauthorized use or close imitation of ideas, text, data, or other creative work (e.g., tables, figures, and graphs) without proper acknowledgment or citation, and presenting it as original research. We are committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and take all cases of plagiarism very seriously.

Definition of Plagiarism

We define plagiarism as the reproduction of another work, in whole or in part, with at least 15% similarity (excluding properly cited references and commonly used phrases) and without proper citation or acknowledgment. This includes, but is not limited to:

Direct Plagiarism: Copying text verbatim without proper citation.
Self-Plagiarism: Republishing one’s own previously published work (in part or whole) without appropriate disclosure or citation.
Paraphrasing Plagiarism: Rephrasing another person’s ideas or work without proper attribution.
Mosaic Plagiarism: Combining phrases, ideas, or data from multiple sources without proper acknowledgment.
Data Fabrication or Manipulation: Using falsified or manipulated data as original research.

Plagiarism Detection

All submitted manuscripts are screened for plagiarism using iThenticate, a leading plagiarism detection software, as part of the editorial process. Manuscripts with a similarity index exceeding 15% (excluding references and common phrases) will be flagged for further review by the editorial team.

Initial Screening: All manuscripts undergo plagiarism screening before being sent for peer review. If significant plagiarism is detected, the manuscript will be rejected immediately.
Post-Publication Screening: If plagiarism is identified after publication, appropriate actions will be taken as outlined below.

Authors are strongly encouraged to use iThenticate or similar tools to check their manuscripts for originality prior to submission.

Consequences of Plagiarism

If evidence of plagiarism is found at any stage (before submission, during peer review, or after publication), the following actions will be taken depending on the severity of the case:

Minor Overlap (e.g., 15–25%):
- Authors will be notified, and the manuscript will be returned for revision to address the overlap and ensure proper citation.
Moderate Plagiarism (e.g., 25–40%):
- The manuscript will be rejected outright.
- Authors may be barred from submitting to the journal for a defined period (e.g., 1–2 years).
Severe Plagiarism (e.g., over 40%):
- The manuscript will be rejected immediately.
- If the manuscript has already been published, it will be retracted, and a retraction notice will be issued on the journal’s website and in the next available issue.
- The authors’ affiliated institutions and/or funding agencies may be notified of the violation.
- Authors found guilty of severe plagiarism may be permanently banned from submitting to the journal.

Opportunity for Author Defense

In cases where plagiarism is detected, the corresponding author will be given an opportunity to respond and provide an explanation. If the editorial team finds the response unsatisfactory, the appropriate actions outlined above will be enforced.

Commitment to Ethical Publishing

The journal is a member of the CrossCheck initiative, a multi-publisher program to detect and prevent plagiarism. We use iThenticate software to screen all submitted and published content for originality. For more information about CrossCheck, visit https://www.crossref.org/crosscheck.html.

Guidance for Authors

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their work is original and properly cited. To assist authors in preparing plagiarism-free manuscripts, we recommend the following:

Use plagiarism detection tools such as iThenticate to check for textual overlap before submission.
Properly attribute all sources, including text, ideas, data, tables, and figures.
Avoid submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously (duplicate submission).
Disclose if any part of the manuscript has been previously published (e.g., as a conference paper or preprint) and provide proper citation.

By submitting to the journal, authors agree to adhere to these ethical standards.

Post-Publication Actions

If plagiarism is discovered after publication, the following actions will be taken:

The article will be retracted, and a retraction notice will be issued.
The retraction notice will detail the reason for retraction and include a reference to the plagiarized content.
The article will be removed from the journal's online platform, and metadata will be updated to reflect the retraction.