r/astrophotography vs r/Astronomy
Side-by-side using public descriptions, members, growth and rule titles from SubMouse. Missing fields show as n/a. Adult communities are excluded.
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Related to r/astrophotography
Related to r/Astronomy
Astrophoto shares vs astronomy discussion
r/astrophotography celebrates amateur astrophotography and sharing original work of real astronomical objects. r/Astronomy describes the hobby and scientific study of celestial objects more broadly.
Astronomy is larger (about 3.2M, rank #333) than astrophotography (about 2.6M, rank #422). Activity samples are similar in volume (~30 vs ~25 posts/day). astrophotography’s sample is overwhelmingly images (nebulae, DSOs, lunar, galaxies); Astronomy’s sample mixes images with text and links, including astrophotography OC and discussion flairs. Our directory lists each name among the other’s related communities.
Rule titles: astrophotography requires real original amateur work plus acquisition/processing info; Astronomy has separate lanes for pictures, object ID, questions, telescope help and bans misinformation.
- Choose r/astrophotography to share original amateur sky photos with gear and processing details.
- Choose r/Astronomy for broader questions, object ID, telescope help and mixed astronomy discussion.
- Both sit outside the current Top 100 cut; space-vs-astronomy is a separate curated pair on SubMouse.
Written comparison based on public descriptions and rule titles · updated 2026-11-07.
r/astrophotography
Amateur Astrophotography
/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…
- Members
- 2.6M
- 7-day growth
- +294
- Posts/day
- 30.4
- Directory rank
- #424
- Created
- Oct 23, 2009
- Submissions
- Text or links
Sample mix: images 90%, text posts 6%, videos 3%
Topics: Photography
Rule titles (short names we collected)
- Post Types
- Real Astrophotography and Equipment Images Only
- Original and Amateur Content Only
- Post Titles
- Acquisition and Processing Information
- General Etiquette
Open r/astrophotography on SubMouse
r/Astronomy
Astronomy
The amateur hobby of humanity since the dawn of time and scientific study of celestial objects.
- Members
- 3.2M
- 7-day growth
- +1.1K
- Posts/day
- 25.2
- Directory rank
- #333
- Created
- Mar 28, 2008
- Submissions
- Text or links
Sample mix: images 48%, text posts 28%, galleries 11%
Topics: Space & Astronomy
Rule titles (short names we collected)
- Pictures & Videos
- Object Identification
- Questions
- Telescope Help
- Content
- Behavior
- Sources
- Repetition & Relevance
- Misinformation & Pseudoscience
- Minimum Karma
- Post Types
Open r/Astronomy on SubMouse
Supported differences
| Aspect | r/astrophotography | r/Astronomy |
|---|
| Public focus (from each community’s public description) |
/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… |
The amateur hobby of humanity since the dawn of time and scientific study of celestial objects. |
| Size r/Astronomy is larger in our directory. |
2.6M members |
3.2M members |
| Posting activity (our sample) |
30.4/day |
25.2/day |
| Common post types in our sample |
images 90%, text posts 6%, videos 3% |
images 48%, text posts 28%, galleries 11% |
| Topic tags on SubMouse |
Photography |
Space & Astronomy |
| Selected rule titles (short names we collected) |
Post Types; Real Astrophotography and Equipment Images Only; Original and Amateur Content Only; Post Titles; Acquisition and Processing Information |
Pictures & Videos; Object Identification; Questions; Telescope Help; Content |
What they share
- Our directory lists each of these communities on the other’s related list.
Rules and posting patterns we can verify
astrophotography short titles: post types; real astrophotography and equipment images; original and amateur content only; post titles; acquisition and processing information; general etiquette. Common flairs include nebulae, DSOs, lunar, galaxies and planetary.
Astronomy: pictures and videos; object identification; questions; telescope help; content; behavior; sources; repetition and relevance; misinformation and pseudoscience; minimum karma; post types.
Where this comparison comes from
Public descriptions and member counts from SubMouse’s safe-for-work directory. Mutual related-list links. Short titles only.
Members and public descriptions come from SubMouse's safe-for-work directory (as of 2026-11-09 UTC); 7-day growth measured from 2026-11-02. Posts/day and post types are shown where recent activity is available. Rule lines are short titles, not the full sidebar. Directory rank is listing order.