Community Guidelines

Last updated 19 October 2026

AstroSphere is a place for people who love the night sky to share what they see, learn from each other and plan their next clear night. Members are 13 and over, from complete beginners to seasoned imagers. These guidelines are part of our Terms of Use, and they apply to posts, photos, captions, comments, replies, reposts, profiles, Squads and Squad names.

Be kind and helpful

• Give feedback on someone’s image the way you’d want it on yours: honest, specific and friendly.
• Welcome beginners. No question is too basic.
• Disagree about kit, processing or science politely. Criticise the idea, not the person.

Not allowed

We have zero tolerance for objectionable content or behaviour. Don’t post or send anything that is:

• Harassment or bullying: insults, pile-ons, repeated unwanted contact, or encouraging others to target someone.
• Hateful: attacks on people because of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age or any similar characteristic.
• Threatening or violent: threats, glorifying violence, or graphic or gory images.
• Sexual: nudity, sexual content or sexualised comments. AstroSphere is open to teenagers, and any sexual content involving children is reported to the authorities.
• Harmful or dangerous: self-harm, encouraging dangerous acts, or advice that could injure someone, such as looking at the Sun without a proper solar filter.
• Illegal: anything that breaks the law or helps someone else to, including the sale of illegal items.
• Spam or scams: adverts, repeated posts, misleading links, fake giveaways, or asking people for money or account details.
• Impersonation: pretending to be another person, club, brand or organisation.
• Private information: other people’s addresses, phone numbers, emails or exact home observing locations without their permission.

Your photos and other people’s

• Post your own images, or ones you have permission to share, and credit the person who took them.
• Be honest about your images. If a photo is heavily composited, uses someone else’s data, or was made or changed by AI, say so in the caption. Don’t pass off other people’s work or AI images as your own astrophotos.
• Sharing your kit, settings and processing in the caption helps everyone learn.
• Choose the category that fits (Deep Sky, Planetary, Lunar, Solar, ISS or Rockets) so people can find your post.

Squads

• Squad owners and moderators keep their Squad within these guidelines and handle join requests fairly.
• A Squad can have extra rules of its own, as long as they don’t conflict with these guidelines.
• Squad posts are for members. Don’t copy them outside the Squad without permission.

Reporting and blocking

• Tap the ⋮ menu on any post, comment or profile and choose Report. Tell us briefly what’s wrong. The person you report isn’t told who reported them.
• Choose Block to stop someone seeing or interacting with you.
• Every report is reviewed. We aim to act on objectionable content within 24 hours.
• If someone is in immediate danger, contact the emergency services first.

What happens if the guidelines are broken

Depending on how serious it is, we may remove the content, give a warning, limit features, suspend the account, or delete it. Serious breaches, such as threats, sexual content involving children or illegal content, lead to an immediate ban and may be reported to the police. Accounts that are banned can’t come back under a new account.

If you think we’ve made a mistake, email support@astro-sphere.co.uk from the address linked to your account and we’ll look again.

Clear skies, and thank you for helping to make AstroSphere a good place to be.