Reddit mod deleted NASA astronaut’s space photo for being “blurry”

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A Reddit moderator faced criticism after deleting a photo from an astronaut, claiming it was too blurry. It sounds unbelievable, but it’s true.

So, Reddit’s pretty open to everyone, it seems. I’ve heard stories about pro athletes making secret accounts – ‘burners’ – just to see what people are really saying about them. But then you also have celebs who are just straight-up using their own names to chat with fans. It’s a wild mix, honestly!

NASA astronaut Don Pettit often shares photos he’s taken from the International Space Station on Reddit, showcasing images from the past several years.

NASA’s oldest active astronaut, Don Pettit, captured a stunning photo of an airplane flying far below the International Space Station (ISS) in 2024. He recently shared the image on the Aviation subreddit on February 1, 2026.

I photographed this plane from the ISS
byu/astro_pettit inaviation

r/Aviation mod apologizes after NASA astronaut’s photo removed

However, a moderator removed the photo, claiming it was too blurry. While many subreddits delete low-quality posts, this decision caused an uproar, and users asked the moderators to put the photo back up.

Another moderator, Flying_Wrenches, explained that they recently added new members to the moderation team, and there were a few initial mistakes as everyone learned the ropes. They quickly addressed the issue after it was brought to their attention, and thanked those who reported it.

I’ll talk to the person who caused the error and hope it doesn’t repeat. The quality is actually pretty good considering the photo was taken from about 250 miles away.

As a longtime follower of r/Aviation, I saw a lot of people calling for the moderator who first trimmed Pettit’s post to be removed. One person put it perfectly, saying that mod showed really bad judgment and shouldn’t be a moderator anymore. Another commenter joked that they didn’t think we’d be seeing much from that mod again! Honestly, it wasn’t that surprising to see people upset with an overzealous Reddit mod, though.

Over the past few months, several Reddit moderators have faced criticism. For example, the r/Art subreddit was temporarily closed by a moderator after an artist shared information about selling their artwork. This situation required Reddit administrators to intervene.

Rapper A$AP Rocky criticized the moderators of the HipHopHeads subreddit for removing his posts promoting his new album, “Don’t Be Dumb.”

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2026-02-04 15:50