The universe
without compression.
Share full-resolution astrophotography images, keep your capture details, and connect with thousands in a real astronomy community — without compression, bots, ads or fake AI content. The globe's only native social media app for astronomy and astrophotography!
Launched in October 2024
The compression problem
15× more detail than Instagram.
Instagram caps photos at around 8 MB and re-compresses everything you post. Picastro accepts up to 120 MB and 72 megapixels with no compression — so the faint nebulosity and tight stars you spent hours capturing actually survive the upload.
Why Picastro exists
Leave behind noisy forums, bot-driven feeds and crushed JPEGs.
Picastro is built differently — a clean experience and a genuine global community. From first captures to complex nebulae, it's easy to share, learn and grow. No chasing attention. Just confidence, knowledge, and a place where astrophotographers belong.
About the platform
What is Picastro?
Picastro is a dedicated social app for astronomy and astrophotography. It gives space enthusiasts, amateur astronomers and astrophotographers a place to share high-resolution images of the night sky, discover inspiring work from others, and learn exactly how each image was captured.
Unlike general social media platforms, Picastro is built entirely around space. Every image, every conversation, and every feature is designed for people who care about deep-sky objects, planets, the Moon — and the craft of astrophotography itself.
View capture details through StarCards®, discover the equipment behind an image, follow other astrophotographers, save favourites, and become part of a focused, welcoming community. Available on iPhone, Android and via the desktop web uploader.
What makes Picastro different
Built for the data, not the algorithm.
Full-resolution uploads
Upload high-resolution astrophotography with no compression — up to 120 MB or 72 megapixels per image. Your hours of integration time stay visible at full quality.
Capture details, preserved
Every image carries a StarCard® — target, gear, exposure, filters and processing notes. Learn from every post and let others learn from yours.
A real astro community
Thrive alongside a global community of astrophotographers, from first-light beginners to seasoned deep-sky imagers. No algorithm deciding who sees your work.
Platesolve to find what's in your images
Our plate solving is integrated with Astrometry.net making it super fast to find out exactly what is contained within your image date. Works best with the same format that Astrometry.net works with, so JPEG, png and WebP
NASA style progression badges
We all love to see the progress we make in the hobby, so collect some cool NASA style progress badges to show your astro buddies how busy you have been during the season.
iOS, Android, and web uploader
Available on iPhone and Android, with a tablet version and desktop web uploader so you can post straight from your processing workflow.
Repeatable Setups
Set up your equipment details once and repeat. Have up to 5 setups on the Titan plan to store those details in an easy to sue manner. Simple.
Fun games
Rememebr those fiendish little square puzzle games when you were a little un, well we have made some of these to pass the time while you set up and wait for the clouds to go. And they are not easy! You love a challenge we've heard.
Picastro Shorts
You can share 'story' style video content with your Picastro friends to highlight a way or processing, a new bit of kit or that time lapse you are so proud of.
Who Picastro is for
Every level of the hobby. One home.
Astrophotographers
Show your images in full quality with the technical details preserved.
Beginners
Learn from other imagers, study setups, see exactly how deep-sky targets are captured.
Astronomy enthusiasts
Explore real images of space from a global community of passionate imagers.
Experienced imagers
A focused platform without the noise — and your work stays protected.
As seen in
The press on Picastro.
Featured by leading astronomy and tech publications around the world.
The specimen gallery
Recent captures from astrophotographers around the world.
From the community
"It's amazing to finally have a mobile app that doesn't compress the heck out of your images."
"This app is a complete game-changer for the space community! No bots, no ads, no compression and no algorithm."
"Literally a breath of fresh air for astrophotographers of all abilities."
"This is easily the best Astrophotography app out there by light years."
"To me this is the app version of AstroBin — but better."
"It's way better than Threads, Facebook, IG, AstroBin, and Twitter for sharing astrophotography. It's also secure — images can't be screenshotted or downloaded."
"Finally, a social platform built for astrophotographers, by astrophotographers. The image quality is unmatched."
"No algorithm, no ads, just stunning deep-sky images in their full glory. Exactly what this community needed."
"The full-resolution uploads are incredible. I can finally show off the detail in my Andromeda captures."
"Clean interface, brilliant community, and zero compression. This is how a photography app should work."
"Such a refreshing change from the noise of mainstream social media. Pure astro content, beautifully presented."
"Loving the EXIF and acquisition data on every post — finally a place that respects the craft behind the image."
"Best decision I made this year was joining Picastro. The image quality blew me away."
"No bots, no spam, no creepy algorithm — just real astrophotographers sharing real work."
"A genuine community. People actually engage with your captures and share tips. Brilliant app."
"I have tried every astro-sharing platform out there. Picastro is by far the most polished and respectful of our images."
Common questions
The new home for astrophotographers
Start sharing. Start being seen.
Free to download. Free to browse. Built for astrophotographers of every level — from your first Moon shot to dozens of hours on faint nebulae.