Astronomy Merit Badge History

Earned through 2020727,495

Best year200319,113 earned

All-time popularity#49official, as of 2020#49by 2025 (estimate)

Earned by Year

First earned in 1911. Peak year 2003 with 19,113. Hover over or tap a year for its numbers.

19115 earned#6 of 22

191238 earned#15 of 51

191396 earned#18 of 56

1914186 earned#20 of 58

191532 earned#43 of 58

191625 earned#46 of 56

191736 earned#48 of 58

191839 earned#49 of 58

1919134 earned#47 of 59

192097 earned#48 of 59

1921231 earned#50 of 61

1922226 earned#52 of 61

1923183 earned#54 of 63

1924184 earned#56 of 64

1925240 earned#54 of 64

1926293 earned#59 of 65

1927522 earned#61 of 68

1928784 earned#68 of 88

1929676 earned#69 of 89

1930677 earned#71 of 92

1931543 earned#85 of 96

1932558 earned#79 of 98

1933723 earned#79 of 101

1934590 earned#83 of 101

1935528 earned#84 of 101

1936538 earned#80 of 101

1937707 earned#82 of 102

1938780 earned#78 of 105

1939634 earned#84 of 106

1940867 earned#76 of 106

19411,060 earned#72 of 106

19421,057 earned#69 of 110

19431,001 earned#76 of 112

19441,598 earned#69 of 111

19451,566 earned#68 of 111

19461,363 earned#70 of 111

19471,169 earned#70 of 111

19481,136 earned#70 of 111

19491,211 earned#71 of 111

19501,278 earned#73 of 111

19511,855 earned#68 of 111

19522,024 earned#72 of 120

19532,611 earned#60 of 105

19543,517 earned#57 of 103

19553,486 earned#58 of 100

19563,668 earned#55 of 100

19573,317 earned#59 of 100

19583,678 earned#61 of 101

19594,383 earned#53 of 101

19604,416 earned#56 of 100

19615,134 earned#54 of 101

19625,119 earned#53 of 101

19635,205 earned#53 of 102

19645,974 earned#53 of 107

19655,914 earned#53 of 109

19666,767 earned#51 of 110

19677,020 earned#52 of 112

19687,158 earned#53 of 112

19697,916 earned#49 of 113

19707,803 earned#50 of 113

19717,823 earned#50 of 113

19726,735 earned#62 of 124

19739,733 earned#49 of 122

19748,329 earned#64 of 121

19758,558 earned#63 of 128

19767,590 earned#66 of 130

19777,329 earned#60 of 130

19787,426 earned#59 of 131

19796,626 earned#52 of 132

19804,331 earned#50 of 132

19816,910 earned#50 of 134

1982No data available

1983No data available

1984No data available

1985No data available

1986No data available

1987No data available

1988No data available

1989No data available

1990No data available

1991No data available

1992No data available

19936,817 earned#58 of 123

1994No data available

1995No data available

199616,979 earned#34 of 134

1997No data available

1998No data available

1999No data available

200018,206 earned#35 of 128

200116,891 earned#36 of 129

200218,836 earned#38 of 129

200319,113 earned#35 of 130

200416,930 earned#38 of 121

200511,229 earned#49 of 121

20069,796 earned#51 of 121

200710,087 earned#51 of 121

20089,654 earned#53 of 121

200910,384 earned#51 of 122

201010,048 earned#52 of 125

201114,941 earned#42 of 129

201217,308 earned#35 of 132

201316,332 earned#28 of 129

201415,758 earned#40 of 136

201516,706 earned#35 of 138

201616,355 earned#32 of 138

201715,702 earned#32 of 139

201815,531 earned#33 of 139

201916,473 earned#30 of 139

20207,474 earned#39 of 137

2021No data available#30 of 137

2022No data available#31 of 138

2023No data available#30 of 138

2024No data available#33 of 138

2025No data available#34 of 141

Known count No data available

"—" means merit badges were earned that year but the exact number is not currently known. "#34 of 141" means the badge was number 34 of the 141 merit badges earned that year. National counts have not been published since 2020, but the rankings have. The grand total comes from official reports and includes the years without a known count. The 2025 all-time place is an estimate, because the counts for 2021 to 2025 are worked out from each year's official ranking and the total number of merit badges earned that year.

19115#6 of 22

191238#15 of 51

191396#18 of 56

1914186#20 of 58

191532#43 of 58

191625#46 of 56

191736#48 of 58

191839#49 of 58

1919134#47 of 59

192097#48 of 59

1921231#50 of 61

1922226#52 of 61

1923183#54 of 63

1924184#56 of 64

1925240#54 of 64

1926293#59 of 65

1927522#61 of 68

1928784#68 of 88

1929676#69 of 89

1930677#71 of 92

1931543#85 of 96

1932558#79 of 98

1933723#79 of 101

1934590#83 of 101

1935528#84 of 101

1936538#80 of 101

1937707#82 of 102

1938780#78 of 105

1939634#84 of 106

1940867#76 of 106

19411,060#72 of 106

19421,057#69 of 110

19431,001#76 of 112

19441,598#69 of 111

19451,566#68 of 111

19461,363#70 of 111

19471,169#70 of 111

19481,136#70 of 111

19491,211#71 of 111

19501,278#73 of 111

19511,855#68 of 111

19522,024#72 of 120

19532,611#60 of 105

19543,517#57 of 103

19553,486#58 of 100

19563,668#55 of 100

19573,317#59 of 100

19583,678#61 of 101

19594,383#53 of 101

19604,416#56 of 100

19615,134#54 of 101

19625,119#53 of 101

19635,205#53 of 102

19645,974#53 of 107

19655,914#53 of 109

19666,767#51 of 110

19677,020#52 of 112

19687,158#53 of 112

19697,916#49 of 113

19707,803#50 of 113

19717,823#50 of 113

19726,735#62 of 124

19739,733#49 of 122

19748,329#64 of 121

19758,558#63 of 128

19767,590#66 of 130

19777,329#60 of 130

19787,426#59 of 131

19796,626#52 of 132

19804,331#50 of 132

19816,910#50 of 134

1982—

1983—

1984—

1985—

1986—

1987—

1988—

1989—

1990—

1991—

1992—

19936,817#58 of 123

1994—

1995—

199616,979#34 of 134

1997—

1998—

1999—

200018,206#35 of 128

200116,891#36 of 129

200218,836#38 of 129

200319,113#35 of 130

200416,930#38 of 121

200511,229#49 of 121

20069,796#51 of 121

200710,087#51 of 121

20089,654#53 of 121

200910,384#51 of 122

201010,048#52 of 125

201114,941#42 of 129

201217,308#35 of 132

201316,332#28 of 129

201415,758#40 of 136

201516,706#35 of 138

201616,355#32 of 138

201715,702#32 of 139

201815,531#33 of 139

201916,473#30 of 139

20207,474#39 of 137

2021—#30 of 137

2022—#31 of 138

2023—#30 of 138

2024—#33 of 138

2025—#34 of 141

Grand total through 2020:

This page keeps growing. More of this badge's history, including its patches and pamphlets, is being checked and will be added once it is confirmed.

Astronomy: workbook data

Printings (104)

Have	Year	Month	Cover	Back	Run	©	BSA #	UPC	SKU	HC	Notes
x	1920		2				3303				15c Radio
	1921	not made
	1922	not made
	1923	not made
x	1924		2				3303				20c Radio
x	1925		3A over 2	back-3			3303				1924 printing
x	1925		3A	back-3			3303
x	1925		3A	back-3			3303				with pasted 1927 Requirements
x	1926		3A	back-3			3303
x	1927		3A	back-3			3303
x	1928		3B	back-3			3303
x	1928		3B	back-3			3303				with pasted 1929 Requirements
c	1929		3B	back-3			3303
x	1930	April	3B	back-3			3303
c	1930	July	3B	back-3			3303
x	1931	February	3B	back-3			3303
x	1932	May	3B	back-3	1M		3303
x	1933	August	3B	back-3	1M		3303
x	1934	June	3B	back-3	1M		3303
x	1935	March	3B	back-3	1M		3303
x	1936	February	3B	back-3	1M		3303
x	1936	October	3B	back-3	1M		3303
x	1937	July	3C	back-3	2M		3303
	1938	not made
c	1939	February	3D	back-3	1M		3303
c	1939	February	3D	back-3	1M		3303				with pasted 19?? Requirements
x	1940	April	3D	back-3	2M		3303
x	1941	March	3D	back-3	2M		3303
x	1941	June	3D	back-3	2M		3303
x	1941	June	4	back-4	2M		3303
	1942	not made
x	1943	April	4	back-4	1M		3303
x	1943	October	4	back-4	1M		3303
x	1944	June	5A	back-5a	4M	1944	3303
x	1945	February	5B-1	blank	3.5M	1944	3303				star in circle is not centered
x	1945	October	5B-2	blank	2M	1944	3303				circle is not flush with title
x	1946	May	5B-2	blank	3M	1944	3303
x	1947	June	5B-2	blank	3M	1944	3303
x	1948	September	5B-2	blank	3M	1944	3303
	1949	not made
x	1950	January	5B-2	blank	3M	1944	3303
x	1950	October	5B-2	blank	4M	1944	3303
	1951	not made
x	1952	February	5B-2	back-6b-1-astronomy	4M	1944	3303
c	1952	August	5B-2	back-6b-1-astronomy	4M	1944	3303
x	1952	September	6A-1	back-6b-1-astronomy	4M	1944	3303
x	1953	March	6A-1	back-6b-1-astronomy	5M	1944	3303			HCI
x	1954	January	6A-2	back-6b-1-astronomy	7M	1944	3303
x	1954	May	6A-2	back-6b-2-astronomy	9M	1944	3303
x	1955	April	6A-2	back-6b-2-astronomy	12M	1944	3303			HCJV1
x	1956	July	6A-2	back-6b-2-astronomy	10M	1944	3303
x	1957	February	6A-2	back-6b-2-astronomy	12M	1944	3303
x	1957	July	6A-2	back-6b-2-astronomy	20M	1944	3303			HCJV1
	1958	not made
x	1959	January	6A-2	back-6c-2	15M	1944	3303
x	1960	April	6A-2	back-6c-2	13M	1944	3303
x	1960	November	6A-2	back-6d	14M	1944	3303
x	1961	October	6A-2	back-6e	14M	1944	3303
x	1962	December	6A-2	back-6f	14M		3303
x	1963	December	6A-2	back-6g	14M		3303			HCK
x	1964	December	6A-2	back-6h	15M		3303			HCK
	1965	not made
x	1966	March	7A	back-7	18M	1966	3303			HCL, HCP
	1967	not made
x	1968	March	7A	back-7	20M	1966	3303
x	1969	February	7A	back-7	24M	1966	3303
x	1970	March	7A	back-7	22M	1966	3303			HCM
x	1971	September	7B	back-7	20M	1971	3303
x	1972	October	8	back-8a	18M	1971	3303			HCSV1, HCT
	1973	not made
x	1974	January	8	back-8a	18M	1971	3303			HCT
x	1975	January	8	back-8b	18M	1971	3303			HCT
x	1976	March	8	back-8c-1	15M	1971	3303
x	1977	April	8	back-8c-2	13M	1971	3303
x	1978	April	8	back-8d	12M	1971	3303
x	1979	May	8	back-8d	10M	1971	3303
x	1980	May	9A	back-9a	10M	1971	3303
x	1981	May	9A	back-9a	10M	1971	3303
x	1982	May	9A	back-9a	10M	1971	3303
x	1983	February	9A	back-9a	6M	1971	3303
x	1983	June	9A	back-9a	12M	1971	3303
x	1984	July	9A	back-9a	11M	1971	3303
x	1985	May	9A	back-9b-2	12M	1971	3303
x	1986	April	9A	back-9b-2	12M	1971	3303
x	1986	November	9A	back-9b-2	15M		3303
	1987	not made
x	1988	January	9A	back-9b-2	12M		3303
x	1988	September	9A	back-9b-2	13M		3303
x	1989	May	9A	back-9b-2	16M		3303
	1990	not made
x	1991	February	9A	back-9c-1	16M		3303
x	1992	April	9A	back-9c-2	16M		33303	730176333038
x	1993	June	9A	back-9d	13M		33303	730176333038
x	1994	September	9A	back-9d	13M		33303	730176333038
x	1995	October	9A	back-9d	13M		33303	730176333038
x	1996	July	9A	back-9d	14M		33303	730176333038
x	1997	September	9A	back-9d			33303	730176333038			front shows only © 1971-Revised 1995-back of book date states MB list current thru September 1, 1996
x	1998		9A	back-9f			33303	730176333038
	1999	not made
x	2000		9A	back-9f			33303	730176333038
x	2001		9A	back-9f			33303	730176333038
x	2002		9A	back-9f			33303	730176333038
x	2003		9A	back-9g			33303	730176333038
x	2004		9B-1	back-9g		2004	33303A	730176333038
x	2005		9B-1	back-9g		2004	33303A	730176333038
x	2006		9B-1	back-9g			33303A	730176333038
x	2007		9B-2	back-9h-2			33303A	730176333038
x	2008		10A	back-1008b3			35859	730176358598
	2009	not made
x	2010		10C-1	back-1010b3			610461	730176358321
x	2011		10C-1	back-1010b3			610461	730176358321
	2012	not made
x	2013		10C-2	back-1010b3			616828	730176357157
x	2014		10C-2	back-1013b3			616828	730176357157			01268-AL
	2015	not made
	2016	not made
x	2017		10D	back-1016b1			616828	730176357157			01268-PSF
x	2017		10D	back-1016b1			616828	730176357157			358
	2018	not made
x	2019		10D	back-1019b1			649765	730176350356			358
	2020	not made
	2021	not made
x	2022		10D	back-1019b1			656887	7301766568876			358
x	2023		10D	back-1019b1			660196	7301766601962			358
x	2024		10D	back-1019b1		2024	35859	7301766610506	661050		358
	2025	not made

Earned and rank by year

Year	Earned	Rank	Of
1911	5	6	22
1912	38	15	51
1913	96	18	56
1914	186	20	58
1915	32	43	58
1916	25	46	56
1917	36	48	58
1918	39	49	58
1919	134	47	59
1920	97	48	59
1921	231	50	61
1922	226	52	61
1923	183	54	63
1924	184	56	64
1925	240	54	64
1926	293	59	65
1927	522	61	68
1928	784	68	88
1929	676	69	89
1930	677	71	92
1931	543	85	96
1932	558	79	98
1933	723	79	101
1934	590	83	101
1935	528	84	101
1936	538	80	101
1937	707	82	102
1938	780	78	105
1939	634	84	106
1940	867	76	106
1941	1,060	72	106
1942	1,057	69	110
1943	1,001	76	112
1944	1,598	69	111
1945	1,566	68	111
1946	1,363	70	111
1947	1,169	70	111
1948	1,136	70	111
1949	1,211	71	111
1950	1,278	73	111
1951	1,855	68	111
1952	2,024	72	120
1953	2,611	60	105
1954	3,517	57	103
1955	3,486	58	100
1956	3,668	55	100
1957	3,317	59	100
1958	3,678	61	101
1959	4,383	53	101
1960	4,416	56	100
1961	5,134	54	101
1962	5,119	53	101
1963	5,205	53	102
1964	5,974	53	107
1965	5,914	53	109
1966	6,767	51	110
1967	7,020	52	112
1968	7,158	53	112
1969	7,916	49	113
1970	7,803	50	113
1971	7,823	50	113
1972	6,735	62	124
1973	9,733	49	122
1974	8,329	64	121
1975	8,558	63	128
1976	7,590	66	130
1977	7,329	60	130
1978	7,426	59	131
1979	6,626	52	132
1980	4,331	50	132
1981	6,910	50	134
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993	6,817	58	123
1994
1995
1996	16,979	34	134
1997
1998
1999
2000	18,206	35	128
2001	16,891	36	129
2002	18,836	38	129
2003	19,113	35	130
2004	16,930	38	121
2005	11,229	49	121
2006	9,796	51	121
2007	10,087	51	121
2008	9,654	53	121
2009	10,384	51	122
2010	10,048	52	125
2011	14,941	42	129
2012	17,308	35	132
2013	16,332	28	129
2014	15,758	40	136
2015	16,706	35	138
2016	16,355	32	138
2017	15,702	32	139
2018	15,531	33	139
2019	16,473	30	139
2020	7,474	39	137
2021		30	137
2022		31	138
2023		30	138
2024		33	138
2025		34	141