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The American Astronomical Society Journals are now completely free to access

The American Astronomical Society announced they are now allowing fully open access to their journals.

The AAS Journals that depict research in astronomy, solar physics, and planetary science are freely accessible for anyone to read, download and share as of January 1.

If like us here at happy, you’re a big old nerd for anything astronomical, count your lucky stars! 

AAS Journals

The exciting news came as a bid to democratise science and learning, starting by liberating knowledge and education.

The AAS is “an international non-governmental organization with a mission to enhance and share humanity’s scientific understanding of the universe as a diverse and inclusive astronomical community.”

The Society claim in a statement on their website that opening up access to the entire journals portfolio is to further support that mission.

The AAS announced this exciting next step on January 1 and the President, Paula Szkody celebrated that: “The entire Board of Trustees supports the AAS in taking this significant step,”

Science works best when it is as transparent and as accessible as possible,” AAS Editor in Chief Ethan Vishniac said in the released statement. “This change opens up our journals to the entire world, and our expanded waiver program removes the barriers to publication for authors everywhere.”

“The move to OA will ensure broader and more equitable access to the important research published in our journals,” adds AAS Executive Officer Kevin Marvel. “This is an important step in keeping with the AAS’s mission to enhance and share humanity’s scientific understanding of the universe as a diverse and inclusive astronomical community.”

Making this research free for anyone to access is fantastic news for the average person, hoping to gain a little extra knowledge but also of course for students, looking to cite articles for their own research. Who knows, maybe the journals will come in handy for any extraterrestrials wondering what kind of intel we’ve got on them.