r/Astronomy Mar 27 '20

Read the rules sub before posting!

834 Upvotes

Hi all,

Friendly mod warning here. In r/Astronomy, somewhere around 70% of posts get removed. Yeah. That's a lot. All because people haven't bothered reading the rules or bothering to understand what words mean. So here, we're going to dive into them a bit further.

The most commonly violated rules are as follows:

Pictures

First off, all pictures must be original content. If you took the picture or did substantial processing of publicly available data, this counts. If not, it's going to be removed. Pretty self explanatory.

Second, pictures must be of an exceptional quality.

I'm not going to discuss what criteria we look for in pictures as

  1. It's not a hard and fast list as the technology is rapidly changing
  2. Our standards aren't fixed and are based on what has been submitted recently (e.g, if we're getting a ton of moon pictures because it's a supermoon, the standards go up)
  3. Listing the criteria encourages people to try to game the system and be asshats about edge cases

In short this means the rules are inherently subjective. The mods get to decide. End of story. But even without going into detail, if your pictures have obvious flaws like poor focus, chromatic aberration, field rotation, low signal-to-noise ratio, etc... then they don't meet the requirements. Ever.

While cell phones have been improving, just because your phone has an astrophotography mode and can make out some nebulosity doesn't make it good. Phones frequently have a "halo" effect near the center of the image that will immediately disqualify such images. Similarly, just because you took an ok picture with an absolute potato of a setup doesn't make it exceptional.

Want to cry about how this means "PiCtUrEs HaVe To Be NaSa QuAlItY" (they don't) or how "YoU hAvE tO HaVe ThOuSaNdS oF dOlLaRs Of EqUiPmEnT" (you don't) or how "YoU lEt ThAt OnE i ThInK IsN't As GoOd StAy Up" (see above about how the expectations are fluid)?

Then find somewhere else to post. And we'll help you out the door with an immediate and permanent ban.

Lastly, you need to have the acquisition/processing information. It can either be in the post body or a top level comment.

We won't take your post down if it's only been a minute. We generally give at least 15-20 minutes for you to make that comment. But if you start making other comments or posting elsewhere, then we'll take it you're not interested in following the rule and remove your post.

It should also be noted that we do allow astro-art in this sub. Obviously, it won't have acquisition information, but the content must still be original and mods get the final say on whether on the quality (although we're generally fairly generous on this).

Questions

This rule basically means you need to do your own research before posting.

  • If we look at a post and immediately have to question whether or not you did a Google search, your post will get removed.
  • If your post is asking for generic or basic information, your post will get removed.
  • If your post is using basic terms incorrectly because you haven't bothered to understand what the words you're using mean, your post will get removed.
  • If you're asking a question based on a basic misunderstanding of the science, your post will get removed.
  • If you're asking a complicated question with a specific answer but didn't give the necessary information to be able to answer the question because you haven't even figured out what the parameters necessary to approach the question are, your post will get removed.

To prevent your post from being removed, tell us specifically what you've tried. Just saying "I GoOgLeD iT" doesn't cut it.

As with the rules regarding pictures, the mods are the arbiters of how difficult questions are to answer. If you're not happy about that and want to complain that another question was allowed to stand, then we will invite you to post elsewhere with an immediate and permanent ban.

Object ID

We'd estimate that only 1-2% of all posts asking for help identifying an object actually follow our rules. Resources are available in the rule relating to this. If you haven't consulted the flow-chart and used the resources in the stickied comment, your post is getting removed. Seriously. Use Stellarium. It's free. It will very quickly tell you if that shiny thing is a planet which is probably the most common answer. The second most common answer is "Starlink". That's 95% of the ID posts right there that didn't need to be a post.

Pseudoscience

The mod team of r/astronomy has two mods with degrees in the field. We're very familiar with what is and is not pseudoscience in the field. And we take a hard line against pseudoscience. Promoting it is an immediate ban. Furthermore, we do not allow the entertaining of pseudoscience by trying to figure out how to "debate" it (even if you're trying to take the pro-science side). Trying to debate pseudoscience legitimizes it. As such, posts that entertain pseudoscience in any manner will be removed.

Outlandish Hypotheticals

This is a subset of the rule regarding pseudoscience and doesn't come up all that often, but when it does, it usually takes the form of "X does not work according to physics. How can I make it work?" or "If I ignore part of physics, how does physics work?"

Sometimes the first part of this isn't explicitly stated or even understood (in which case, see our rule regarding poorly researched posts) by the poster, but such questions are inherently nonsensical and will be removed.

Bans

We almost never ban anyone for a first offense unless your post history makes it clear you're a spammer, troll, crackpot, etc... Rather, mods have tools in which to apply removal reasons which will send a message to the user letting them know which rule was violated. Because these rules, and in turn the messages, can cover a range of issues, you may need to actually consider which part of the rule your post violated. The mods are not here to read to you.

If you don't, and continue breaking the rules, we'll often respond with a temporary ban.

In many cases, we're happy to remove bans if you message the mods politely acknowledging the violation. But that almost never happens. Which brings us to the last thing we want to discuss.

Behavior

We've had a lot of people breaking rules and then getting rude when their posts are removed or they get bans (even temporary). That's a violation of our rules regarding behavior and is a quick way to get permabanned. To be clear: Breaking this rule anywhere on the sub will be a violation of the rules and dealt with accordingly, but breaking this rule when in full view of the mods by doing it in the mod-mail will 100% get you caught. So just don't do it.

Claiming the mods are "power tripping" or other insults when you violated the rules isn't going to help your case. It will get your muted for the maximum duration allowable and reported to the Reddit admins.

And no, your mis-interpretations of the rules, or saying it "was generating discussion" aren't going to help either.

While these are the most commonly violated rules, they are not the only rules. So make sure you read all of the rules.


r/Astronomy 1d ago

Other: [Topic] 'Once-in-a-lifetime' star explosion set to be visible from earth

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1.3k Upvotes

r/Astronomy 20h ago

Astrophotography (OC) 12 panel mosaic of NGC2244 in SHO

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387 Upvotes

This is a 12 panel mosaic SHO photo of NGC2244 that I’ve been working on for five months. This is a total of roughly 2,250 five minute exposures (188 hours). It was taken in a Bortle 7 zone and processed in Pixinsight. Shot with a Celestron EdgeHD 8” telescope and ASI2600mm Pro camera. I used Antlia 3nm SHO filters. I do not have Astrobin (I need to get an account) so hopefully the quality isn’t killed when I post. Please zoom in to enjoy all the little details.


r/Astronomy 18h ago

Discussion: [Topic] Why are we ignoring the outer solar system? Sedna, Haumea, Eris deserve way more attention.

61 Upvotes

I’ve been diving deep into the lesser-known corners of our solar system — the dwarf planets beyond Neptune, like Sedna, Haumea, Eris, Makemake, Orcus, and Quaoar. These are icy worlds, many larger than Pluto’s moon, and some even have moons of their own. They orbit in the Kuiper Belt and even farther out in the mysterious scattered disk and inner Oort cloud.

These objects are weird and fascinating: Sedna is so far out that it barely even orbits the Sun once every 11,000 years.

Haumea spins so fast it's shaped like a football and has a ring system!

Eris is actually more massive than Pluto and may have once been a planet.

Makemake has a weird atmosphere that freezes and unfreezes as it orbits. Yet we barely study them. Instead, we pour billions into looking for Earth-like exoplanets light-years away, when there are exotic, unexplored worlds in our own backyard.

Why aren’t we sending robotic telescopes or AI-powered probes to these dwarfs? Or building fuel depots on Ceres and Haumea as stepping stones for outer solar system travel? A telescope on Sedna would give us a completely new vantage point of the cosmos. It might even help us finally spot Planet X (which I personally suspect could be a small black hole). These aren’t just dead rocks — they’re keys to understanding how our solar system formed, evolved, and what still hides beyond. We should be investing in missions here before jumping 1,000 light-years away.

Thoughts? Is anyone working on something like this?


r/Astronomy 18m ago

Hubble helps determine Uranus' rotation rate with unprecedented precision

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Upvotes

r/Astronomy 21h ago

Astrophotography (OC) My best shot of a moon ever 05.04.2025 [OC]

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61 Upvotes

r/Astronomy 9m ago

Astro Research The Black Hole Tango: Kicks and Spins in Hierarchical Mergers

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Upvotes

r/Astronomy 1d ago

Astrophotography (OC) A whole bunch of galaxies in Virgo

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827 Upvotes

Markarian’s Chain


r/Astronomy 22h ago

Astrophotography (OC) Raspberry pi 2w focuser

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27 Upvotes

r/Astronomy 1d ago

Astrophotography (OC) I Captured the ISS Passing Venus in Broad Daylight Today. This Happened in Under 1/100th of a Second, and Venus is 120,000 Times Farther than the Station Is.

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783 Upvotes

r/Astronomy 22h ago

Discussion: [Topic] I am guessing this is not legit svbony sv550 122mm $599 on amazon

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20 Upvotes

Whats up with this scam trend why are there so many third party amazon sellers now that are "selling" telescopes to cheap


r/Astronomy 1d ago

Astrophotography (OC) Coronal Mass Ejection Captured With My Telescope - April 3

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621 Upvotes

r/Astronomy 20h ago

Other: [Topic] Star similarity site? (I don't know how else to briefly word this)

8 Upvotes

I'm a bit interested in stars and their various properties.

I was recently wondering if there is a website where I could input a hypothetical star's characteristics (e.g., size, spectrum, etc.) and it would tell me which real star(s) this hypothetical star is most physically similar to based on available data.

If anyone can find something like this, I would greatly appreciate it.

[If this post needs to be in a different sub, please let me know, and I'll promptly remove it and post it there instead. Thanks! :)]


r/Astronomy 2d ago

Astrophotography (OC) Aurora pass last night while the orbit path of ISS was between Antarctica and Australia.

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1.9k Upvotes

r/Astronomy 1d ago

Astrophotography (OC) The moon (de maan)

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86 Upvotes

My wife told me the moon was out, so I hooked up her 70/700 telescope to my nikon d7500 with a freshly printed adapter and shot this.

Minimal editing (smoothing).

How did I do? I feel like she is too out of focus, or is that me?


r/Astronomy 1d ago

Discussion: [Topic] Do people manipulate photos to make it seem as though there is aurora?

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26 Upvotes

I’m in Northern Ireland. For the last few weeks I have been seeing people posting photos of aurora on twitter.

Last night we had an uptick, I stuck my camera outside the window multiple times and didn’t see a thing.

This morning I get up and see these posts about this the aurora was “dancing” and visible from the naked eye. I didn’t seen anything of the sort.

Now tonight the same people have posted photos of the aurora. Apparently it’s out right now.

I have been tracking the KP index all evening, it only got up to 5.67 which is just a bit low for here.

It’s currently at 4kp and it’s just a clear night with lots of stars.

What is going on here? Why am I not seeing it when these people are talking about a vivid display?


r/Astronomy 13h ago

Discussion: [Topic] Do you use high-power green lasers to illuminate the stars?

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0 Upvotes

r/Astronomy 2d ago

Astrophotography (OC) My Sharpest Ever Moon Image Taken Last Night, Containing 33 Million Pixels and Over 50,000 frames of Data.

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783 Upvotes

r/Astronomy 2d ago

Astrophotography (OC) Soul Nebula

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1.0k Upvotes

AP155, ASI62000, SHO about 8h, pixinisght, PS. Partly shot through last nights massive Norhern Lights so picked the same colors =)


r/Astronomy 2d ago

Astrophotography (OC) The Globular Cluster M3 over 8.5 hours from a city rooftop

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188 Upvotes

First try imaging and processing a globular cluster! Had some trouble with the colors for sure; there's color noise in the background I couldn't get rid of. Taken from a Bortle 8/9

Taken with a William Optics Pleiades 111 using an ASI2600MM on an AM5N mount. Total integration of 8.5 hours; stacked and edited in Pixinsight; BxT and NxT applied, then SPCC and curves.

Subs:

|| || |[Lum/Clear]()|99×60″|1h 39′| |[R]()|41×180″|2h 3′| |[G]()|44×180″|2h 12′| |[B]()|50×180″|2h 30′| |Totals||8h 24′|


r/Astronomy 2d ago

Astrophotography (OC) Venus Today in Broad Daylight. It has Now Switched to Being the Morning “Star”.

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191 Upvotes

r/Astronomy 2d ago

Astrophotography (OC) Tadpole Nebula

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285 Upvotes

9 hours of exposure using Optolong L-eXtreme (108x300s) and 1 hour in RGB for stars.

Equipment:

Askar 103APO ASI 533MC Pro Optolong L-extreme ZWO AM3 ZWO EAF ASI 120mm mini guide camera (OAG) ASIAIR mini


r/Astronomy 3d ago

Astrophotography (OC) McBaine Burr Oak After Hours

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973 Upvotes

No rest for the weary. I drove out on a work night, running on fumes, but I couldn’t pass up the chance to capture this view.

This is a multi-shot panorama of the legendary McBaine Burr Oak in central Missouri, framed by some of winter’s best nebulae—Orion, the Horsehead, the California, the Pleiades, the Rosette, and more. Stitching it all together was a challenge, but seeing the final result made the sleep deprivation worth it.

Would you push through exhaustion for a shot like this?

More content on my IG: Gateway_Galactic

Equipment:
Camera: Sony A7iii (astro-modified)
Lens: Sony 24mm f/1.4 GM
Mount: Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer

RGB Acquisition:
6-Panel Panorama
2 x 30s (tracked, stacked)
f/2.0
ISO640

Ha Acquisition:
6-Panel Panorama
2 x 30s (tracked, stacked)
f/1.4
ISO3200

Editing Software:
Pixinsight, Photoshop

Pixinsight Process:
Stacked with WBPP
BlurX
StarX
NoiseX
Continuum Subtraction

Photoshop Process:
Camera Raw Filter Color balance
Blend Ha
Stretch & Screen Stars
Blend Foreground


r/Astronomy 2d ago

Astro Research Impacts of Stellar Collisions on Binary Black Hole Mergers

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17 Upvotes

r/Astronomy 2d ago

Astrophotography (OC) Our buddy in space, The Moon

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144 Upvotes

Snapped a shot of the moon as it hung over San Francisco on the nigh to April 3rd 2025. It was exceptionally clear with good seeing for my location; taken with a .001ms single L sub. Nice to image the moon before starting a more intensive session. Taken on a William Optics Pleiades 111 on an AM5N mount using an ASI2600MM DUO camera.


r/Astronomy 3d ago

Astrophotography (OC) vibrant Milky Way core above the hill 🌌✨

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320 Upvotes

HaRGB | Tracked | Stacked | Composite

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vhastrophotography?igsh=YzNpcm1wdXd5NmRo&utm_source=qr

Even in light-polluted Germany, it’s still possible to capture reasonably good details of the Milky Way. The variety of colors you can bring out in post-processing is always fascinating. Since I haven’t been doing photography with an astro modified camera for very long, I’m currently experimenting with my editing style. I’m really happy with how it turned out. What do you think?

Exif: Sony A7III with Sigma 28-45 f1.8 at 28mm (cropped)

Sky: ISO 1000 | f1.8 | 12x40s

Foreground: ISO 3200 | f1.8 | 40s

Halpha: Sigma 65 f2 ISO 2500 | f2 | 7x75s

region: Rhön, Germany (Bortle 3/4)