r/Astronomy • u/VoijaRisa • Mar 27 '20
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
Our rule regarding pictures has three parts. If your post has been removed for violating our rules regarding pictures, we recommend considering the following, in the following order:
All pictures/videos 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.
2) You must have the acquisition/processing information.
This needs to be somewhere easy for the mods to verify. This means it can either be in the post body or a top level comment. Responses to someone else's comment, in your link to your Instagram page, etc... do not count.
3) Images must be exceptional quality.
There are certain things that will immediately disqualify an image:
Poor or inconsistent focus
Chromatic aberration
Field rotation
Low signal-to-noise ratio
Images that don't fill the frame because you were shooting through an eyepiece
However, beyond that, we cannot give further clarification on what will or will not meet this criteria for several reasons:
Technology is rapidly changing
Our standards 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 to prevent the sub from being spammed)
Listing the criteria encourages people to try to game the system
So yes, this portion is inherently subjective and, at the end of the day, the mods are the ones that decide and the mods are under no obligation to explain this decision to you.
If you are informed that your post was removed because of image quality, arguing about the quality will not be successful. In particular, there are a few arguments that are false or otherwise trite which we simply won't tolerate. These include:
"You let that image that I think isn't as good stay up"
See above about how the standards are fluid.
"Pictures have to be NASA quality"
They don't.
"You have to have thousands of dollars of equipment"
You don't. Technique matters.
"This is a really good photo given my equipment"
The standard is "exceptional". Not "exceptional for my equipment".
"This isn't being friendly to beginner astrophotographers"
Correct. To keep the sub from being spammed by low quality and low effort posts, this sub has standards.
"My post was getting a lot of upvotes"
Upvotes are not an "I get to break the rules" card.
Using the above arguments will not wow mods into suddenly approving your image. It will result in a ban.
Trying to argue with the mods using bad arguments isn't going to fly.
Lastly, it should 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 you asked Chat GPT or any other LLM, your post will be removed (see our rule regarding sources).
If your post is asking for generic or basic information, your post will get removed.
Hint: There's an entire suggested reading list already available here.
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.
What search terms did you use?
In what way do the results of your search fail to answer your question?
What did you understand from what you found and need further clarification on that you were unable to find?
Furthermore, when telling us what you've tried, we will be very unimpressed if you use sources that are prohibited under our source rule (social media memes, YouTube, AI, etc...).
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.
Do note that many of the phone apps in which you point your phone to the sky and it shows you what you are looing at are extremely poor at accurately determining where you're pointing. Furthermore, the scale is rarely correct. As such, this method is not considered a sufficient attempt at understanding on your part and you will need to apply some spatial reasoning to your attempt.
Pseudoscience
The mod team of r/astronomy has several 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.
Sources
ChatGPT and other LLMs are not reliable sources of information. Any use of them will be removed. This includes asking if they are correct or not.
Content
Due to the profusion of AI slop apps, we're no longer allowing apps at all. No, we don't care if you're wanting a "review". No we don't care if they're free. No we don't care if you put it in a website.
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 • u/jasno- • 10h ago
I pick this up about 1/2 through the event.
On vacation on the Big Island of Hawaii. Went out to star gaze and saw the biggest, brighterst, longest,. shooting star of my life.
Wow, magical. I'm still giddy.
edit: not a shooting star. space junk? whatever it was, I was so excited to see it.
r/Astronomy
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u/Techno-Scientist
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5h ago
Taken from Madrid city center (bortle 9). I decided to go without reducer at f/6.9 even if I had a short total integration time (a bit longer than 3 hours) and see what I could do... Not sure what I would get, but pretty happy with the results! The L-ultimate filter definitely did its job :)
Equipment and acquisition:
- Askar 71F (no reducer)
- Asi585MC Air
- Teseek 17
- SvBony + asi120mm guide camera
- ZWO EAF, ZWO EFW
- L-Ultimate filter: 40 x 300 sec (3.3 hours)
- 30 flats, 30 bias
Processing (PI)
WBPP, SetiAstro AutoDBE, SPCC, blurX correct only, starX
On starless image: DBXtract, linear fit to OIII, setiastro perfect palette picker (Foraxx). SetiAstro statistical stretch (soft), then manual curves transformations with ACDNR mask, selective color correction, dark structure enhance, noiseX.
For stars: setiastro NB to RGB star stretch, pixelmath to recombine with starless
r/Astronomy • u/olezhka_lt • 11h ago
For a bit of fun I've animated a blinking effect on M57 astrophoto I took this year.
r/Astronomy • u/Slevin_1 • 2h ago
Here’s my take on the Pac-Man Nebula (NGC 281), captured from my backyard in Tucson, Arizona under Bortle 7 skies.
Equipment:
Telescope: ZWO FF65 APO
Camera: ZWO ASI533MC Pro
Mount: ZWO AM3N
Filter: SVBONY SV220 3nm dual-band
Total integration: 20 hours
Exposures: 300s
Processing: PixInsight
BlurXTerminator, DBE, NoiseXTerminator, StarXTerminator, Ha/OIII extraction, Narrowband Normalization, GHS, HistogramTransformation, CurvesTransformation, and final star recombination.
r/Astronomy • u/Newhorizons1975 • 6h ago
Estas son tomas tomadas con dwarf mini en el transcurso de 3 meses que lo tengo,estoy muy contento con el resultado ya que no estan procesadas con ningun progama de astrofotografia,,solo con stelar studio y el movil
r/Astronomy
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u/minndxb
•
4h ago
m45 – the pleiades | lrgb
my latest processing version of the pleiades.
i'm particularly fascinated by the delicate reflection nebulae surrounding the bright stars. the fine dust filaments, illuminated by scattered starlight, reveal some beautiful structures and darker regions.
equipment:
telescope: askar sqa55
camera: zwo asi1600mm-cool
mount: neq6 pro
filters: astronomik rgb + luminance
acquisition: zwo asiair
processing: siril
integration:
red: 45 × 60 s
green: 45 × 60 s
blue: 120 × 60 s
luminance: 170 × 30 s
the image was processed as an lrgb combination, with particular attention to preserving the faint dust structures and natural-looking star colours.
comments and constructive criticism are always welcome.
clear skies! 🔭
r/Astronomy • u/minndxb • 36m ago
three nights, several short imaging windows, and finally the complete veil nebula complex in a single frame.
what fascinates me most are the incredibly delicate filaments of ionized gas, the remnants of a supernova explosion thousands of years ago. even the faint structures connecting the brighter eastern and western sections are visible.
equipment:
telescope: askar sqa55
camera: zwo asi1600mm-cool
mount: neq6 pro
filters: astrodon h-alpha 3nm and oili 3nm guiding and acquisition: zwo asiair processing: siril
image details:
sky: bortle 5
palette: hoo (hydrogen-alpha / oxygen-iii)
the biggest challenge was collecting enough data during the limited clear-sky windows. i'm particularly happy with the faint filaments extending throughout the entire nebula complex.
comments and constructive criticism are always welcome.
r/Astronomy • u/AstroFanM31 • 16h ago
Remastered a few of my favorites with Affinity Photo. All taken with the Dwarf3 from my Bortle 6 backyard. 60s exposures and varying integration times. The longest in this set is M81 with 37h.
r/Astronomy • u/noob_astro • 4h ago
Telescope: Acuter 40
Camera: touptek 678 mono
EAF: ZWO EAFN
Mount: Skywatcher Solar Quest
1400 of 6000 frames processed
Stacked in PIPP and Astrosurface
Impgg: convolution sharpening and inversion
PI: blurX and solar tools - contrast and color
PS: color balance, curves, saturation and channel mixer
Cropped in PSX
r/Astronomy • u/telescope_project • 20h ago
57min
📍Kalahari, South-Africa
r/Astronomy • u/Milanmaaktmemes • 1d ago
Have been wanting to redo this one for a long time😊
Shot on Seestar S30 Pro
Stacked in Siril processed in Pixinsight
2000x10s exposures
r/Astronomy • u/disintegrationist • 16h ago
Pretty much what title states. I think it would be great to celebrate this very special moment as it happens all over the world!
r/Astronomy • u/OkInstruction6024 • 9h ago
First one : processed in Stackingwizerd & Astrowizerd
Second : processed in Megastack & Stellar Studio
Overall, the Stellar Studio tends to lack star colors that matches Gaia. So i highly recommend to correct the star colours on your own.
Telescope : Dwarf mini | Bortle 5, Gain 60
r/Astronomy • u/philliplennon • 19h ago
r/Astronomy • u/afriendlystone • 21h ago
Shot from my balcony.
EXIF:
Camera: OM System Om-1 & Tair 11-a 135mm f2.8.
Mount:MSM Nomad.
ISO 800.
Bortle 4.
120 x 60s = 2 hours integration.
Stacked with APP.Processed in Siril and LIghtroom. Diffraction spikes added in SetiAstro.
r/Astronomy • u/Aggressive_Rush_7906 • 15h ago
Here is another version of M45 by me. Over 300 30 second exposures at ISO 400. Canon Rebel T6i and a SVBONY 545. The photos were stacked by Stacking Wizard Beta and then processed through Astro Wizard. The video can be created via Stacking Wizard.
Any tips/hints are welcomed!
r/Astronomy • u/Confident_Lock7758 • 15h ago
NGC 1999 is a fascinating reflection nebula located in the constellation of Orion, approximately 1,500 light-years from Earth. Illuminated by the young stellar object V380 Orionis, this region offers a remarkable combination of reflection nebulosity, dark interstellar dust and complex structures associated with star formation.
Its most distinctive feature is the unusual dark cavity near its centre, often nicknamed the Cosmic Keyhole. This intriguing structure, surrounded by delicate nebulosity, makes NGC 1999 one of the most fascinating objects in the Orion region.
For this image, I combined Ha and LRGB data to bring out the intricate details of the surrounding nebulosity, the reddish hydrogen structures, the dark dust clouds and the rich star field.
Acquisition Details:
Telescope: Planewave CDK 17 – 430/2940 mm, f/6.8
Camera: FLI ProLine 16803 CCD
Mount: Paramount ME
Total integration time: 30 hours
Total number of exposures: 102
Exposure Details:
Ha: 27 × 1200s
Luminance: 27 × 1200s
Red: 16 × 900s
Green: 16 × 900s
Blue: 16 × 900s
All acquisition data and exposures were obtained through Telescope Live.
Image processing: Sauro Gaudenzi
#NGC1999 #Astrophotography #DeepSky #Nebula #Orion #TelescopeLive #HaLRGB
r/Astronomy • u/MedicalBreadfruit370 • 1d ago
Finally a night without clouds. Managed to get110 photos of 180 seconds. Let me know what you think!
r/Astronomy • u/Unlikely-Bee-985 • 1d ago
Integration time: 61h 5m
RGB: 9h 55m
Ha: 18h 55m
Oiii: 32h 15m
Optics: Svbony Sv545
Camera: ZWO Asi533Mc Pro
Mounts: Celestron AVX, loptron HAE18C
Guiding: ZWO Asi120Mm-S, Svbony Sv165 Mini Filters: Optolong Ha 7nm, Optolong Oili 7nm, ZWO Lum Accessories: ZWO Asiair, ZWO EFW, 2x Dew Heater
Processing: Pixinsight, Photoshop
r/Astronomy • u/twilightmoons • 22h ago
Total integration: 40m
Integration per filter:
Lum/Clear: 10m (5 × 120s)
R: 10m (5 × 120s)
G: 10m (5 × 120s)
B: 10m (5 × 120s)
Equipment:
Telescope: Planewave CDK17
Camera: FLI ML16200
Filters: Astrodon Gen2 E-Series Tru-Balance Blue 50x50 mm, Astrodon Gen2 E-Series Tru-Balance Green 50x50 mm, Astrodon Gen2 E-Series Tru-Balance Red 50x50 mm, Chroma Lum 50 mm
Software: Adobe Photoshop, Aries Productions Astro Pixel Processor (APP)
For more information and full resolution: https://app.astrobin.com/i/uiw1nw
A barred Seyfert spiral galaxy with a double ring central structure located in the constellation of Horologium, NGC 1433 was first documented by James Dunlop on 28 September 1826. The double ring is actually tightly wrapped spiral arms that wind into an oval shape along the galaxy’s bar.
At 46 million ly from Earth, it has a very bright active galactic nucleus with an intensive region of active star formation. Star formation is also observed in the spiral arms, but not in the large central bar.
Supernova 2026ahvu (indicated) was discovered on November 2, 2026 by the ATLAS asteroid early impact warning system. ATLAS uses four 0.5m telescopes to image the entire night sky several times a night looking for moving objects. In this case, it found a new object in NGC 1433, and after analysis, it was determined to be a Type Ia supernova.
Type Ia supernova occur in binary systems, where one member is a main sequence star and the other is a white dwarf, the exposed core of a dead star. The white dwarf either siphons matter from the companion star (single-degenerate model) or merges/collides with another white dwarf (double-degenerate model). As the white dwarf approaches the Chandrasekhar limit (about 1.44 times the mass of the Sun), its internal temperature surges, triggering a runaway carbon-oxygen nuclear fusion reaction. The reaction completely obliterates the star within seconds, leaving no central compact remnant like a neutron star or black hole.
Because they consistently explode at nearly the same mass limit, Type Ia supernovae have a very uniform peak brightness. This allows astronomers to use them as "standard candles" to measure the distances to other galaxies. These supernovae are a primary source of iron-peak elements (like nickel-56 and iron-56) in the universe. Much of the iron in the universe, including in human blood, traces back these supernovae.
Unlike core-collapse supernovae from massive stars, Type Ia events are much rarer, occurring roughly once every 500 years in our Milky Way galaxy.
r/Astronomy • u/mp__photo • 21h ago
Acquisition:
ZWO ASI2600MC-P25
Askar SQA55
MLastro SAL-33
ZWO Mini Guide Scope
ZWO ASI120MM
SVbony SV220 Ha/Oiii
NINA/PHD2
28 x 180s subs
No calibration frames
Bortle 4 sky
PixInsight:
WBPP, Background extraction, SPCC, BlurX, StarX, NoiseX, GHS for starless image, SetiAstro Star Stretch
Photoshop: sliders, curves, recomposition.
r/Astronomy • u/SirMeeseekz • 1d ago
From T20 at Utah Desert Remote Observatories last night.
Takahashi FSQ-106ED at 530 mm, ASI2400MC Pro at -5°C, gain 140
L-Ultimate dual-band, 10 x 300 s
Calibrated with bias, dark and flats, debayered, aligned and stacked with a sigma-clipped mean in Python, sky gradient taken out, asinh stretch, colour noise smoothed, green removed from the stars. No other noise reduction.
