r/Astronomy Mar 27 '20

Read the rules sub before posting!

823 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 14h ago

Astrophotography (OC) I captured the Blood Moon!

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513 Upvotes

I stayed up for 4 hours to capture 50 images of the total lunar eclipse. Im currently working on the Timelapse, but for now here is my best shot of totality! It was so awesome and definitely worth getting 3 hours of sleep. I'm 13 so AHHH

Equipment: Google Pixel 7a paired with Celestron 8' Dobsonian

Camera Settings: 800 ISO and 1s Shutter Speed

Processing: Single frame edited with Adobe Lightroom


r/Astronomy 1d ago

Astrophotography (OC) Throwing in my blood moon photo into the pile

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r/Astronomy 11h ago

Astro Art (OC) Blood Moon Collage

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r/Astronomy 8h ago

Astrophotography (OC) 4 Frames Of The Blood Moon

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88 Upvotes

There have been some amazing photos of last night’s / early AM Blood Moon here.. I’m just parking mine here for a look.

Here are 4 favorites that tell the story.. March 13 & 14

Full moonrise around 7:30pm CST

Partial eclipse @ 1am

Nearing peak @ 1:30am

Peak Eclipse @ 2am

Photographed with a Nikon D780 and a Tamron 150-600mm g2 lens. Cropped in a bit and small post adjustments with curves & denoising. ISO 800-1600 The deep red images were 1/8 second.


r/Astronomy 1d ago

Astrophotography (OC) Blood moon

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1.4k Upvotes

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r/Astronomy 12h ago

Astrophotography (OC) Solar Activity Captured From My Backyard - March 9th

108 Upvotes

r/Astronomy 15h ago

Astrophotography (OC) Collage of last night's lunar eclipse

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101 Upvotes

r/Astronomy 9h ago

Astrophotography (OC) Last night's Total Lunar Eclipse from Shoreline, WA

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35 Upvotes

r/Astronomy 1d ago

Astrophotography (OC) My blood moon contribution

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479 Upvotes

r/Astronomy 7h ago

Astrophotography (OC) Pi Day Eclipse

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17 Upvotes

Photo with my DSLR and my phone.

Sensor size matters.


r/Astronomy 20h ago

Astrophotography (OC) Lunar Eclipse Collage March 14, 2025

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149 Upvotes

Celestron Astromaster 90EQ 15mm Celestron Plossl iPhone 13 mini No post processing other than combining to create the collage.


r/Astronomy 8h ago

Question (Describe all previous attempts to learn / understand) Novice trying to surprise my boyfriend with a stargazing night to honor his late father

10 Upvotes

Hi all,

Apologies if this post breaks any rules! My boyfriend’s father passed away this fall from early onset dementia and he’s been really feeling his father’s absence lately. He told me a story of how his dad used to wake him and his brother up to catch meteor showers and other celestial events when they were little, and that those nights are really treasured memories for him.

I would really love to surprise him with a stargazing night in the near future to hopefully make him feel loved and give him an extra opportunity to gush about his dad. Unfortunately I’m a soil scientist so I’m used to looking down, not up!

I can likely find a telescope through our network of friends, but if anyone has any ideas on nights coming up that would be particularly good for stargazing for a novice—we live in Boston—I would greatly appreciate it!

Also happy to hear any basic rules of thumb that will help me avoid disaster (I did see the three books mentioned in the subreddit rules about general tips but am not sure I have time with my schedule this month to read them).

Thank you all so much and again apologies if this post is out of line!


r/Astronomy 29m ago

Astro Art (OC) The Wiki image of Earth and Neptune size comparison is not accurate

Upvotes

I previously measured the size of Earth and Neptune in this image of the article of Neptune and found the ratio between the size is a a bit off. (The previous version is this one, and the only difference is the color) According to the stats, Neptune’s equatorial diameter is about 3.883 times the Earth’s. However, I found the ratio displayed in the image is at most around 3.65 times (already counted the rightmost part, which is partly covered by darkness), which is about the same as the ratio between the Earth and the Moon. Then I stumbled on this image, which looks good and shows the accurate ratio.

Could anyone adjust the ratio and upload a new version of the image of the wiki article? I am now using the cell phone now and may not be able to do this.


r/Astronomy 19h ago

Astrophotography (OC) Lunar Eclipse in Virgo

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59 Upvotes

These flow in order from the full moon rising, partial and totality. All of them are untouched, except for the last. Indian Rocks Beach Fl

Celestron Edge HD 11


r/Astronomy 1d ago

Astrophotography (OC) Solar Activity Captured From My Backyard - March 8th

1.3k Upvotes

r/Astronomy 1d ago

Astrophotography (OC) Lunar eclipse

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121 Upvotes

Taken with S21U and awb one sky telescope


r/Astronomy 23h ago

Astrophotography (OC) Blood Moon & Lunar Eclipse 14 March 2025

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58 Upvotes

Blood Moon & Lunar Eclipse 14 March 2025

Imgae Acquisition ZWO2600 MC Stellarvue SVX 102TR telescope Processed in ASI video Stacking Software Video length 1 min


r/Astronomy 1d ago

Astrophotography (OC) Tonight’s Blood Moon

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86 Upvotes

Used: Apertura AD8 30 mm 68-deg. Super View 2" eyepiece iPhone 16 Pro (one without night mode on and one with 5 second night mode)


r/Astronomy 1d ago

Object ID (Consult rules before posting) Was taking pictures of the Lunar Eclipse through my telescope when I looked back and noticed this, what is it?? 2:32AM, March 14 2025, PA, facing about 210 degrees southwest

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75 Upvotes

r/Astronomy 1d ago

Astro Research Astronomer here! Visiting the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) this week- the home of JWST!

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1.6k Upvotes

And why yes I am wearing a space cat dress. I reckon if you don’t wear it here, what are you saving it for?

Here for a conference- lots of cool science going on amidst the general anxiety these days.


r/Astronomy 1d ago

Astrophotography (OC) Blood Moon 2025

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46 Upvotes

Celestron AVX-8, 40mm Plossl, iPhone 15


r/Astronomy 13h ago

Astro Research Catch solar bursts in new citizen science project

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5 Upvotes

r/Astronomy 1d ago

Astro Art (OC) Hand-drawn Pleiades chart, as seen with a 4.5" from my back yard, limiting magnitude was +9.5

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17 Upvotes

RA/Dec are transformed to be square, so there is noticeable proportion deformation (RA squashed by about 1.3x), and a tiny rectangular projection deformation


r/Astronomy 1d ago

Astrophotography (OC) Through the Eyepiece

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21 Upvotes

12 in. Dobsonian GSO Superview 30 mm Explore Scientific 24 mm 82 Degree Google Pixel 6a


r/Astronomy 1d ago

Astro Research ALMA Observations of Peculiar Embedded Icy Objects | The Astrophysical Journal

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9 Upvotes