A Comparison of Publication Counts for Four Ultraviolet Explorer Observatories

Abstract Publication counts for four space-based ultraviolet observatories are compared: International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE), Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer, Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE), and Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX). The first three show rapid rises to either a sharp or broad maximum. Over the peak period for IUE the papers tend to be concentrated upon data from that mission specifically. Maxima are followed by declines of various duration, after which papers based upon multiple space-based observatories have lead to extended relevancy for each mission, particularly in the case of FUSE. By contrast, papers that incorporate data from GALEX have yet to evince a turn-over. As with FUSE, there is a pronounced trend for results from the GALEX mission to have been incorporated into multi-mission papers.