About r/astrophotography
In its own words:
/r/astrophotography celebrates amateur astrophotography and will primarily focus on sharing and discussing the work of our members. We encourage sharing original content of real astronomical objects as a means of showcasing that work with those who enjoy astrophotography, inspiring those who are new to astrophotography, and requesting and providing constructive feedback on the work.
The community was created on Oct 23, 2009, which makes it 17 years old. Since Oct 19, 2026, it has gained 513 subscribers (+0.02%). Among the 19 communities on our photography list it is number 4 by size.
What sets r/astrophotography apart
r/astrophotography is far more image-driven than most big subreddits: 91% of its recent posts are images, against a median of 9% across the Top 100. r/astrophotography is more of a browsing community than a debating one: 5.0 comments per post on average, well under the Top 100 median of 16.2. For its size it is unusually busy: about 11.6 new posts a day per million members, more than 83% of the Top 100. Its rhythm is strongly tied to time zones: the busiest hour (18:00 UTC) sees about 8.5× as many posts as the quietest (04:00 UTC).
Subscriber growth
Between Sep 19, 2026 and Oct 29, 2026, r/astrophotography climbed from 2,642,305 to 2,644,359 subscribers (+2.1K, +0.08%). That is about 51 new members per day. The chart uses our weekly snapshots (8 so far), so it gets longer every week.
What r/astrophotography talks about
We read the titles of 191 recent posts (Oct 21–Oct 28), the words that come up most are “nebula”, “moon”, “galaxy”, “ngc” and “andromeda”. Other frequent themes are saturn, orion, m31, sho, hours and luna. Recurring phrases include “andromeda galaxy”, “orion nebula”, “bubble nebula” and “veil nebula”. By format, 91% are images, 4% are text posts and 4% are videos.
Popular post flairs: Nebulae (53), DSOs (39), Lunar (35), Galaxies (25), Planetary (9), Astrophotography (6).
Activity and best time to post
r/astrophotography gets about 31 new posts a day. The public archive holds 161,377 posts and 800,777 comments in total, about 5.0 comments per post. Last week the busiest day was Saturday (46 posts) and the quietest was Tuesday (17). Posting peaks around 18:00 UTC and is lowest around 04:00 UTC.
Rules of r/astrophotography
The moderators of r/astrophotography list 6 rules. In short:
- Post Types
- Real Astrophotography and Equipment Images Only
- Original and Amateur Content Only
- Post Titles
- Acquisition and Processing Information
- General Etiquette
How to join
Open reddit.com/r/astrophotography and press “Join”. Read the community rules in the sidebar before you post: every subreddit is run by its own volunteer moderators.
Frequently asked questions
How big is r/astrophotography?
r/astrophotography has 2,644,359 subscribers, which makes it the #421 safe-for-work subreddit in the SubMouse ranking. It added 2,054 members between Sep 19, 2026 and Oct 29, 2026.
When was r/astrophotography created?
r/astrophotography was created on Oct 23, 2009, so it has been around for 17 years. The oldest post in the public archive is from Oct 24, 2009.
Is r/astrophotography still active?
Yes. r/astrophotography gets about 31 new posts a day (average of the last four weeks). Over its lifetime the archive counts 161,377 posts and 800,777 comments. In a sample of 191 recent posts we counted 142 different authors.
What is the best time to post in r/astrophotography?
Based on post counts from Oct 22, 2026 to Oct 28, 2026, the busiest day was Saturday and the quietest Tuesday, and most posts arrive around 18:00 UTC, with the fewest around 04:00 UTC. More posts also means more competition, so a quieter hour can help a post get noticed.
What kind of posts are on r/astrophotography?
The community describes itself as: “/r/astrophotography celebrates amateur astrophotography and will primarily focus on sharing and discussing the work of our members. We encourage sharing original content of real astronomical objects as a means of showca…” Recent post titles often mention nebula, moon, galaxy, ngc and andromeda. Most posts are images (91%).
Is r/astrophotography SFW?
Yes. Reddit does not mark r/astrophotography as an 18+ (NSFW) community. SubMouse lists safe-for-work subreddits only.
What are the rules of r/astrophotography?
Join the community on Reddit first, then use “Create post”. r/astrophotography accepts both text and link posts, with images and videos enabled. It has 6 posted rules, starting with: “Post Types”; “Real Astrophotography and Equipment Images Only”; “Original and Amateur Content Only”. Moderators remove posts that break the rules, so read them in the sidebar before posting.
What subreddits are similar to r/astrophotography?
Communities with similar topics include r/Astronomy (3.2M), r/psychology (4.9M), r/memes (36.1M), r/tifu (19M) and r/pics (33.6M).
Stats from public data (data updated Oct 29, 2026; activity, rules and archive totals via the Arctic Shift archive, Oct 30, 2026). Point and comment counts are archive snapshots and can be lower than on Reddit today. SubMouse is an independent directory and is not affiliated with Reddit or the moderators of r/astrophotography.