Author Guidelines

Eligibility

The Journal for Young Astronomers (JYA) is dedicated to amplifying the voices of the next generation of astronomical researchers. Submissions are welcomed from the following groups:

• High school students (ages 14 and above) currently enrolled in a secondary education program.
• Undergraduate students enrolled in an accredited college or university program at the time of submission.
• Recent graduates and graduate students who completed their most recent degree within one year of the submission date (up to age 30).

All authors must be between the ages of 14 and 30 at the time of manuscript submission. At least one author must meet the eligibility criteria; faculty advisors and mentors may be listed as co-authors but may not serve as the corresponding author. Proof of enrollment or graduation may be requested during the review process.

Manuscript Preparation

All manuscripts submitted to the Journal for Young Astronomers must be prepared in accordance with the guidelines below. Submissions that do not conform to these requirements may be returned to authors prior to peer review.

General Formatting

• Manuscripts should be submitted as a single Microsoft Word (.docx) or PDF file.
• Use 12-point Times New Roman or a comparable serif font throughout the manuscript.
• Double-space all text, including references, figure legends, and tables.
• Number all pages consecutively, beginning with the title page.
• Include continuous line numbers in the left margin.
• Use SI units for all measurements. Define abbreviations at first mention in the text.
• Equations should be typeset using an equation editor (e.g., MathType or the built-in Word equation tool) and numbered consecutively in parentheses.

Word Limits by Article Type

Word limits refer to the main body text only and exclude the abstract, references, figure legends, and tables.

Article Type	Word Limit	Abstract	References
Research Article	6,000 words	250 words (structured)	Up to 40
Short Communication	3,000 words	150 words (unstructured)	Up to 20
Review Article	8,000 words	250 words (unstructured)	Up to 80

Supplementary Materials

Authors may submit supplementary materials to support their primary manuscript. These materials are published online alongside the article and are freely accessible to readers.

Accepted File Types

• Data files: .csv, .xlsx, .fits, .xml, .json
• Additional figures/tables: .pdf, .png, .tiff
• Video/audio: .mp4, .avi, .wav (maximum 100 MB per file)
• Code and scripts: .py, .R, .m, .ipynb, .jl
• Other documents: .docx, .pdf, .txt

File Size and Formatting

• Individual supplementary files should not exceed 50 MB. For larger datasets, authors are encouraged to deposit data in a public repository (e.g., Zenodo, Figshare, the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes) and provide the DOI or accession number in the manuscript.
• Supplementary materials should be cited in the main text (e.g., "Supplementary Table S1") and listed with a brief description.
• All supplementary files should be compiled into a single ZIP archive when multiple files are included.

Ethical Requirements

Originality and Prior Publication

All submitted manuscripts must represent original work that has not been previously published in any peer-reviewed journal, book, or conference proceedings. Preprints posted to recognized servers (e.g., arXiv) prior to submission are permitted, but authors must disclose this at the time of submission.

Authorship and Consent

• All individuals listed as authors must have made a substantial contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the research.
• All co-authors must have reviewed and approved the final manuscript and consented to its submission to JYA.
• The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all co-authors meet the criteria for authorship and have approved the submission.
• Faculty advisors or mentors who provided guidance may be listed as co-authors if their contribution meets standard authorship criteria; otherwise, they should be acknowledged in the Acknowledgments section.

Conflicts of Interest and Funding

• All authors must disclose any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest that could be perceived as influencing the research.
• Funding sources must be fully disclosed, including grant numbers, telescope time allocations, and the role of the funder in the study design, data collection, analysis, and manuscript preparation.

Data Availability

Authors are strongly encouraged to make all observational data, reduced datasets, and analysis code publicly available upon publication. Data may be deposited in recognized repositories or included as supplementary materials. A data availability statement must be included in all manuscripts.

Peer Review Process

The Journal for Young Astronomers employs a rigorous double-blind peer review process. Both author and reviewer identities are kept confidential throughout the evaluation to promote objectivity and reduce bias.

Review Timeline

• Initial screening: Within 5 business days of submission, the Editor-in-Chief or a Section Editor will conduct an initial assessment of the manuscript for scope, quality, and adherence to formatting guidelines.
• Peer review: Each manuscript is evaluated by 2 to 3 independent reviewers with relevant subject matter expertise in astronomy, astrophysics, or related disciplines.
• First decision: Authors can expect a first decision within approximately 4 to 6 weeks of submission.
• Revision turnaround: Authors are granted 21 days for minor revisions and 45 days for major revisions.

Decision Categories

1. Accept — The manuscript is accepted for publication as submitted or with minor copyediting.
2. Minor Revision — Small changes are required; the revised manuscript may not require re-review.
3. Major Revision — Substantial changes are required; the revised manuscript will be returned to reviewers for re-evaluation.
4. Reject — The manuscript is not suitable for publication in JYA. Authors are encouraged to address reviewer feedback and consider resubmission or submission to a more appropriate venue.

Revision and Resubmission

When submitting a revised manuscript, authors must include a detailed point-by-point response to each reviewer comment. Changes in the manuscript should be highlighted or tracked. Failure to adequately address reviewer concerns may result in rejection of the revised submission.