How we work
The rules behind every page of The Orbital Record, written down so you can hold us to them.
Who writes The Orbital Record
Pages are written and reviewed by the The Orbital Record editorial team. We do not publish under invented names. When named authors and scientific reviewers join, their names, backgrounds and links will appear on the pages they write or check.
How papers are chosen
The research library starts with the papers that changed what astronomers know: discoveries that opened a field, measurements that settled a debate, or methods that everyone now uses. A paper is marked Landmark when it belongs in that all-time top tier, which today counts 30 papers. They are collected, in reading order, in the landmarks guide.
- Every paper page links to the original publication, with a DOI or arXiv identifier when one exists.
- Titles, authors, journals, volumes, pages and years are checked against the publisher or NASA ADS.
- If an identifier cannot be verified, it is left out rather than guessed.
How summaries are written
Summaries are original writing in plain English, not paraphrased abstracts. Each one says what the paper found, how, and why it mattered. Numbers come from the paper or its official release, and short quotations are marked and attributed. We avoid hype words and say clearly when a result is uncertain or disputed.
Preprints and peer review
Much new astronomy appears first on arXiv, before peer review. News stories say whether a result is a preprint or peer-reviewed, and link the journal version once it exists. Preprint results are described as claims to be confirmed.
Research Pulse counts preprints on arXiv by their primary astro-ph category. It measures activity, not quality.
Images and licensing
We use only public-domain imagery (NASA) or images published under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (ESA/Webb, ESA/Hubble, ESO), always with the credit line the source requires. Artist impressions are labeled as such. Full credits for site imagery are on the credits page.
Corrections
If we get something wrong, we fix it, update the Last reviewed date and note what changed at the end of the page. Pages are also reviewed when new results change the picture. Spotted an error? Reply to any newsletter email and tell us.