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Journal of Cosmology

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Headbomb (talk | contribs) at 19:23, 12 October 2011 (→Hoover paper controversy: |date=8 March 2011). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Revision as of 19:23, 12 October 2011 by Headbomb (talk | contribs) (→Hoover paper controversy: |date=8 March 2011)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) Not to be confused with Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics. Academic journal
Journal of Cosmology
DisciplineCosmology
LanguageEnglish
Edited byRudolph Schild
Publication details
History2009–present
PublisherCosmology Science Publishers (United States)
Standard abbreviations
ISO 4 (alt) · Bluebook (alt)
NLM (alt) · MathSciNet (alt Paid subscription required)
ISO 4J. Cosmol.
Indexing
CODEN (alt · alt2) · JSTOR (alt) · LCCN (alt)
MIAR · NLM (alt) · Scopus
ISSN2159-063X
LCCN2010203854
Links

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.

Scope

The journal publishes original theories and discoveries in cosmology, astronomy, astrobiology, and earth and planetary sciences. 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.).

Reliability

The quality of peer review at the journal has been questioned several times. The journal has also been accused of promoting fringe viewpoints 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."

Hoover paper controversy

In early March 2011, the journal drew widespread criticism for the publication of a paper by Richard B. Hoover (a NASA engineer) which proposes that life on Earth began on another planet, which then collided with another astronomical body, and the resulting debris carried life from the original planet to Earth. The journal dismissed the criticism as "a barrage of slanderous attacks" from "crackpots and charlatans", calling themselves "heroic" for resisting the actions of "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. They indicated that their critics had "refused to cooperate" in a review, and therefore proclaimed the published study to be "beyond reproach".

The James Randi Educational Foundation awarded Hoover the tongue-in-cheek Pigasus Award for widely-dismissed claims that he had found signs of life in Mars rocks.

Indexing

The Journal of Cosmology is abstracted and indexed in Astrophysics Data System, Polymer Library, and ProQuest.

References

  1. ^ "About the Journal". Journal of Cosmology. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  2. ^ I. O'Neil (7 March 2011). "NASA Refutes Alien Discovery Claim". Discovery News. Retrieved 7 March 2011.
  3. ^ P. Z. Myers (6 March 2011). "Did Scientists Discover Bacteria in Meteorites?". Pharyngula. Retrieved 6 March 2011.
  4. ^ P. Plait (7 March 2011). "Followup Thoughts on the Meteorite Fossils Claims". Discover Magazine. Retrieved 6 March 2011.
  5. ^ L. Battison (11 March 2011). "Microbes on a Moonbeam: Disentangling the Meteorite Microbe Claims". Science in Pen and Ink. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
  6. N. K. Geranios (15 November 2010). "Scientists propose one-way trips to Mars". MSNBC. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  7. P. Z. Myers (23 July 2009). "An Amusingly Suspicious "Paper"". Pharyngula. Retrieved 6 March 2011.
  8. D. Dobbs (6 March 2011). "Aliens Riding Meteorites: Arsenic Redux or Something New?". Wired. Retrieved 6 March 2011.
  9. R. Redfield (6 March 2011). "Is this claim of bacteria in a meteorite any better than the 1996 one?". RRResearch. Retrieved 6 March 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  10. R. B. Hoover (5 March 2011). "Fossils of Cyanobacteria in CI1 Carbonaceous Meteorites". 13. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
  11. "The Controversy of the Hoover Meteorite Study: Official Statement The Journal of Cosmology, Have the Terrorists Won?". Journal of Cosmology. 8 March 2011. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
    The statement was taken down, but a copy of the original can be found at D. Dobbs (10 March 2011). "Journal of Cosmology calls criticism of Hoover alien paper a witchhunt". David Dobbs's Somatic Marker. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  12. I. Musgrave (9 March 2011). "Commentaries posted at Journal of Cosmology". Astroblog. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
  13. "NASA shoots down alien fossil claims". ABC News. 8 March 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  14. Associated Press (7 March 2011). "Scientists skeptical of meteorite alien life claim". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  15. ^ R. Schild (11 March 2011). "The Journal of Cosmology Proposes a Scientific Commission, Established Co-Jointly with Science and Nature, To Investigate & Confirm the Validity of the Hoover Paper". Journal of Cosmology. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
    A copy of the original can be found at G. Munevar (25 March 2011). "A New Controversy". Philosophy of Space Exploraton. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  16. D. Dobbs (18 March 2011). "Cosmology journal declares war won, enemies evil, new Galileo". Posterous. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
  17. R. Mestel (1 April 2011). "Dr. Oz, Andrew Wakefield and others, um, 'honored' by James Randi". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
  18. S. Crabtree (1 April 2011). "The 5 Worst Promoters of Nonsense". James Randi Educational Foundation. Retrieved 9 October 2011.

Further reading

External links

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