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.

Swap sides New comparison 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.

In our directory, 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: +331
Posts/day: 30.4
Directory rank: #422
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: +1.5K
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. Our sample 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. Short rule titles and activity samples SubMouse collected. Mutual related-list links. Short titles only.

Members and public descriptions come from SubMouse's safe-for-work directory (as of 2026-11-02 UTC); 7-day growth measured from 2026-10-26. Posts/day and post-type mixes appear when we have an activity sample. Rule lines are short titles, not the full sidebar. Directory rank is listing order — communities outside the current Top 100 open in the info tool instead of a full community page.