Journal of Cosmology
Encyclopedia
Journal of Cosmology describes itself as a peer-reviewed open access
scientific journal
of cosmology
, although the quality of the process has been questioned. The journal was established in 2009 and is published by Cosmology Science Publishers. It is edited by Rudolph Schild, a researcher at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
.
, astronomy
, astrobiology
, and earth
and planetary science
s. Contributions may cover multiple disciplines and sub-disciplines of biology
, geology
, physics
, chemistry
, extinction
, and the origin and evolution
of life, and Martian colonization and exploration
.
In general published papers present original theories, reviews, commentary, and speculation. Also covered is analysis of similarities and differences between competing theories (Big Bang
vs Steady State theory
, panspermia vs abiogenesis
, etc.).
and speculative viewpoints on astrobiology
, astrophysics
, and quantum physics. Skeptical blogger and biologist PZ Myers
said of the journal "... it isn't a real science journal at all, but is the... website of a small group... obsessed with the idea of Hoyle
and Wickramasinghe
that life originated in outer space and simply rained down on Earth."
(a NASA
engineer) which discusses "the implications of the detection of fossils of cyanobacteria in the CI1 meteorites to the possibility of life on comets, Europa and Enceladus." The journal dismissed the criticism as "a barrage of slanderous attacks" from "crackpots and charlatans", calling themselves "heroic" for resisting the "terrorists" whose actions they equated with the Inquisition
. NASA distanced itself from Hoover's findings, and issued a statement saying that the paper had been previously submitted in 2007 to International Journal of Astrobiology
where it was rejected for publication.
In an open letter to the editors of Science
and Nature
, Schild proposed to establish a commission to investigate the validity of the Hoover paper, which would be led by three experts appointed by Journal of Cosmology, Science and Nature. The journal said it would interpret "any refusal to cooperate, no matter what the excuse" from Nature or Science as "vindication for the Journal of Cosmology and the Hoover paper, and an acknowledgment that the editorial policies of the Journal of Cosmology are beyond reproach". They subsequently issued another statement in which they stood by their publication process and suggested that criticisms were "slander and histrionic tirades", and comparing their critics to "lunatics... unleashed to throw filth", suggesting that their own actions were part of a 2000-years struggle of science against religion. Since their critics had "refused to cooperate" in a review, they reaffirmed the study to be "beyond reproach".
The James Randi Educational Foundation
awarded Hoover the tongue-in-cheek Pigasus Award
for announcing "for the third time in 14 years that he had found evidence of microscopic life in meteorites."
, Polymer Library
, and ProQuest
.
Open access journal
Open access journals are scholarly journals that are available online to the reader "without financial, legal, or technical barriers other than those inseparable from gaining access to the internet itself." Some are subsidized, and some require payment on behalf of the author.Subsidized journals...
scientific journal
Scientific journal
In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. There are thousands of scientific journals in publication, and many more have been published at various points in the past...
of cosmology
Cosmology
Cosmology is the discipline that deals with the nature of the Universe as a whole. Cosmologists seek to understand the origin, evolution, structure, and ultimate fate of the Universe at large, as well as the natural laws that keep it in order...
, although the quality of the process has been questioned. The journal was established in 2009 and is published by Cosmology Science Publishers. It is edited by Rudolph Schild, a researcher at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
The Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics is one of the largest and most diverse astrophysical institutions in the world, where scientists carry out a broad program of research in astronomy, astrophysics, earth and space sciences, and science education...
.
Scope
The journal publishes original theories and discoveries in cosmologyCosmology
Cosmology is the discipline that deals with the nature of the Universe as a whole. Cosmologists seek to understand the origin, evolution, structure, and ultimate fate of the Universe at large, as well as the natural laws that keep it in order...
, astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
, astrobiology
Astrobiology
Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. This interdisciplinary field encompasses the search for habitable environments in our Solar System and habitable planets outside our Solar System, the search for evidence of prebiotic chemistry,...
, and earth
Earth science
Earth science is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. It is arguably a special case in planetary science, the Earth being the only known life-bearing planet. There are both reductionist and holistic approaches to Earth sciences...
and planetary science
Planetary science
Planetary science is the scientific study of planets , moons, and planetary systems, in particular those of the Solar System and the processes that form them. It studies objects ranging in size from micrometeoroids to gas giants, aiming to determine their composition, dynamics, formation,...
s. Contributions may cover multiple disciplines and sub-disciplines of biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
, physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, extinction
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
, and the origin and evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
of life, and Martian colonization and exploration
Colonization of Mars
The colonization of Mars by humans is the focus of speculation and serious study because the surface conditions and availability of water on Mars make it arguably the most hospitable planet in the solar system other than Earth...
.
In general published papers present original theories, reviews, commentary, and speculation. Also covered is analysis of similarities and differences between competing theories (Big Bang
Big Bang
The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological model that explains the early development of the Universe. According to the Big Bang theory, the Universe was once in an extremely hot and dense state which expanded rapidly. This rapid expansion caused the young Universe to cool and resulted in...
vs Steady State theory
Steady State theory
In cosmology, the Steady State theory is a model developed in 1948 by Fred Hoyle, Thomas Gold, Hermann Bondi and others as an alternative to the Big Bang theory...
, panspermia vs abiogenesis
Abiogenesis
Abiogenesis or biopoesis is the study of how biological life arises from inorganic matter through natural processes, and the method by which life on Earth arose...
, etc.).
Reliability
The quality of peer review at the journal has been questioned several times. The journal has also been accused of promoting fringe viewpointsFringe science
Fringe science is scientific inquiry in an established field of study that departs significantly from mainstream or orthodox theories, and is classified in the "fringes" of a credible mainstream academic discipline....
and speculative viewpoints on astrobiology
Astrobiology
Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. This interdisciplinary field encompasses the search for habitable environments in our Solar System and habitable planets outside our Solar System, the search for evidence of prebiotic chemistry,...
, astrophysics
Astrophysics
Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior...
, and quantum physics. Skeptical blogger and biologist PZ Myers
PZ Myers
Paul Zachary "PZ" Myers is an American biology professor at the University of Minnesota Morris and the author of the Pharyngula science blog. He is currently an associate professor of biology at UMM, works with zebrafish in the field of evolutionary developmental biology , and also cultivates an...
said of the journal "... it isn't a real science journal at all, but is the... website of a small group... obsessed with the idea of Hoyle
Fred Hoyle
Sir Fred Hoyle FRS was an English astronomer and mathematician noted primarily for his contribution to the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis and his often controversial stance on other cosmological and scientific matters—in particular his rejection of the "Big Bang" theory, a term originally...
and Wickramasinghe
Chandra Wickramasinghe
Vidya Jothi Nalin Chandra Wickramasinghe , FIMA, FRAS, FRSA is Professor at Cardiff University and Honorary Professor at the University of Buckingham. He is the Director of the Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology...
that life originated in outer space and simply rained down on Earth."
Hoover paper controversy
In early March 2011, the journal drew widespread criticism for the publication of a paper by Richard B. HooverRichard B. Hoover
Richard B. Hoover is a NASA scientist who has authored 33 Volumes and 250 papers on astrobiology, extremophiles, diatoms, solar physics, X-ray/EUV optics and meteorites...
(a NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
engineer) which discusses "the implications of the detection of fossils of cyanobacteria in the CI1 meteorites to the possibility of life on comets, Europa and Enceladus." The journal dismissed the criticism as "a barrage of slanderous attacks" from "crackpots and charlatans", calling themselves "heroic" for resisting the "terrorists" whose actions they equated with the Inquisition
Inquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
. NASA distanced itself from Hoover's findings, and issued a statement saying that the paper had been previously submitted in 2007 to International Journal of Astrobiology
International Journal of Astrobiology
The International Journal of Astrobiology is a multidisciplinary scientific journal established in 2002 that covers research on the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life on Earth and beyond. It accepts papers in astronomy, space science, planetary science, and biology that have a...
where it was rejected for publication.
In an open letter to the editors of Science
Science (journal)
Science is the academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is one of the world's top scientific journals....
and Nature
Nature (journal)
Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...
, Schild proposed to establish a commission to investigate the validity of the Hoover paper, which would be led by three experts appointed by Journal of Cosmology, Science and Nature. The journal said it would interpret "any refusal to cooperate, no matter what the excuse" from Nature or Science as "vindication for the Journal of Cosmology and the Hoover paper, and an acknowledgment that the editorial policies of the Journal of Cosmology are beyond reproach". They subsequently issued another statement in which they stood by their publication process and suggested that criticisms were "slander and histrionic tirades", and comparing their critics to "lunatics... unleashed to throw filth", suggesting that their own actions were part of a 2000-years struggle of science against religion. Since their critics had "refused to cooperate" in a review, they reaffirmed the study to be "beyond reproach".
The James Randi Educational Foundation
James Randi Educational Foundation
The James Randi Educational Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 1996 by magician and skeptic James Randi. The JREF's mission includes educating the public and the media on the dangers of accepting unproven claims, and to support research into paranormal claims in controlled...
awarded Hoover the tongue-in-cheek Pigasus Award
Pigasus Award
The Pigasus Award is the name of an annual tongue-in-cheek honor recognized by noted skeptic James Randi. The awards seek to expose parapsychological, paranormal or psychic frauds that Randi has noted over the previous year...
for announcing "for the third time in 14 years that he had found evidence of microscopic life in meteorites."
Indexing
The Journal of Cosmology is abstracted and indexed in Astrophysics Data SystemAstrophysics Data System
The Astrophysics Data System , developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration , is an online database of over eight million astronomy and physics papers from both peer reviewed and non-peer reviewed sources...
, Polymer Library
Polymer Library
The Polymer Library, formerly Rapra Abstracts, is a searchable database of research on plastics, rubbers, polymeric composites, and adhesives. It includes abstracts from over 450 journals, as well as company literature, data sheets, and patents...
, and ProQuest
ProQuest
ProQuest LLC is an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based electronic publisher and microfilm publisher.It provides archives of sources such as newspapers, periodicals, dissertations, and aggregated databases of many types. Its content is estimated at 125 billion digital pages...
.