# I've been photographing the night sky lately, or what a decent camera can do **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 8, 2018, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-photographing-the-night-sky-lately-or-what-a-decent-camera-can-do/808418 "2018-02-08T08:16:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-photographing-the-night-sky-lately-or-what-a-decent-camera-can-do/808418/1 "2018-02-08T08:16:10Z")
[DISCLAIMER: If you know me on Facebook you have probably already seen these.] As some of you may remember, I was looking for a new camera last summer and eventually settled on a Nikon D5600, which is generally considered a good entry level DSLR for the serious amateur. What with one thing or another, I never got around to it before, but recently I’ve started shooting the night sky. I have no equatorial mount, drive, or telescope, so these are from just the camera and the basic “daily driver” 18-55mm lens that the camera came with. Region between Cancer, Leo, and Canis MInor inclusive. The Praesepe (‘Beehive’) star cluster is visible near the middle of the top margin: Link Orion, Canis Major and Canis Major: [Link](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4623/26198660588_8a293d364c_o.jpg) Orion (feet beyond margin to right), and Gemini (Castor and Pollux are over the palm tree, to the left): [Link](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4603/28153204409_21814ce88f_o.jpg) For all of these photos, I had to do extensive post processing. Still, considering that they were taken from a typically light-polluted suburban location, I’m amazed at the number of stars that show up here, including numerous 6th magnitude stars. The high ISO required means there’s a lot of noise in the color and texture of the background sky, but when I have a chance to try this under a darker sky it should be better. From the same location, with the unaided eye I would hardly be able to see any of these stars For instance, I’m lucky if I can see the seven bright stars in Orion. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-photographing-the-night-sky-lately-or-what-a-decent-camera-can-do/808418/2 "2018-02-08T08:33:58Z")
I don’t know what happened to the first link in my OP but it should be as follows: [Link](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4760/25271376427_62443a5c20_o.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-photographing-the-night-sky-lately-or-what-a-decent-camera-can-do/808418/3 "2018-02-08T13:26:28Z")
You should post your settings… ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-photographing-the-night-sky-lately-or-what-a-decent-camera-can-do/808418/4 "2018-02-08T13:28:11Z")
Fun! What were your camera settings (ISO, focal length, SS, aperture)? I have some similar shots from my own back yard, complete with the bright foliage. Like you, I was impressed by the number of stars. It was neat to see how many stars could be resolved by the camera on a New Jersey summer evening. Why not try for a number of long exposures and make a composite with the stars going in circles around Polaris–that is a particularly cool one because it illustrates the motion of the earth from one’s humble back yard. Somewhere I have one “spinning earth” shot that I did as a really long exposure, but I believe these days the cool kids just do it as a series of shorter exposures and stack them, minimizing the noise. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-photographing-the-night-sky-lately-or-what-a-decent-camera-can-do/808418/5 "2018-02-08T19:20:19Z")
You can see the settings in a Flickr album [here](https://flic.kr/s/aHskvUNzqy), where I have also included the original JPEG files from the camera. If I had realized that individually shared photos aren’t provided with the camera data, I would have just shared the album to begin with. The latter are included primarily to demonstrate approximately how the night sky really looks to the naked eye, but also the fact that if you zoom in you can see how many stars really do get picked up in the image. On the other hand, the long exposures or high ISOs needed produce weird sky colors, image noise, or both. At this point it’s mainly a question of finding the best compromise. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-photographing-the-night-sky-lately-or-what-a-decent-camera-can-do/808418/6 "2018-02-08T19:50:56Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > Why not try for a number of long exposures and make a composite with the stars going in circles around Polaris–that is a particularly cool one because it illustrates the motion of the earth from one’s humble back yard. > Somewhere I have one “spinning earth” shot that I did as a really long exposure, but I believe these days the cool kids just do it as a series of shorter exposures and stack them, minimizing the noise. That’s definitely on my list. As for the stacking technique, that would be useful for astro pictures generally. Tools like Photoshop and GIMP make it possible to split out just the stars for each exposure and then superimpose them on the original image. The later images of stars can be rotated or shifted clockwise (if memory serves) to obtain a brighter image of the stars. Meanwhile, I’ve already made some good images of passing auto lights and carnival rides; here’s another album of a (very) local Fall carnival from last year. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-photographing-the-night-sky-lately-or-what-a-decent-camera-can-do/808418/7 "2018-02-08T20:58:12Z")
[[Album] Escondido Fall Carnival '17 ![](https://live.staticflickr.com/4545/38326907841_130a186f5b_b.jpg "Escondido Fall Carnival ") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/78538399@N00/sets/72157689145916404/) ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-photographing-the-night-sky-lately-or-what-a-decent-camera-can-do/808418/8 "2018-02-08T22:51:44Z")
The go-to app on OS X for star trail stacking is StarStax. Here is one of mine: [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/4277/34394181333_a71f68f6cc_b.jpg "Monument Valley Moonlight Landscape") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/11822576@N08/34394181333/) ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-photographing-the-night-sky-lately-or-what-a-decent-camera-can-do/808418/9 "2018-02-09T01:19:07Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > The go-to app on OS X for star trail stacking is StarStax. > > Here is one of mine: > [Monument Valley Moonlight Landscape | beowulff | Flickr](https://flic.kr/p/UpiaQr) Wow, you’ve got some really nice effects here, including the auto light trails along the road. There’s one bright star trail near the top which is actually lavender in color–did it just come out that way? ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-photographing-the-night-sky-lately-or-what-a-decent-camera-can-do/808418/10 "2018-02-09T02:49:57Z")
My back-yard shot seems absolutely humble next to **beowulff** ’s shot. But it was done old-school as a 16-minute exposure. I’d need to get into the stacking business if I wanted anything more than that. [Back left corner of my yard](https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-KpWmgqZ/0/712e2016/X3/i-KpWmgqZ-X3.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-photographing-the-night-sky-lately-or-what-a-decent-camera-can-do/808418/11 "2018-02-09T08:27:06Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > My back-yard shot seems absolutely humble next to **beowulff** ’s shot. > > But it was done old-school as a 16-minute exposure. I’d need to get into the stacking business if I wanted anything more than that. > > [Back left corner of my yard](https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-KpWmgqZ/0/712e2016/X3/i-KpWmgqZ-X3.jpg) Then again, your back yard is probably a lot more light-polluted than Monument Valley. What kind of gear and settings were you using? ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-photographing-the-night-sky-lately-or-what-a-decent-camera-can-do/808418/12 "2018-02-09T08:48:28Z")
BTW I managed to make it to a location that has a dark sky, about eleven miles distant from and nearly 3000 feet above my home. Since I didn’t know the opportunity was going to arise I didn’t have my tripod with me, so I had to be content to prop the camera up against my windshield, or to simply rest it on the car roof. I wasn’t looking for star trains, but just better sky images. I have about a half-dozen exposures for each image which I plan to try stacking in the near future, but for now I have to limit myself to just color/contrast enhancement. I’m surprised and a bit disappointed that I still get the mottled noisy sky through post-processing, but think the stacking will allow me to leave the background sky untouched. [Link](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4696/26291219348_2c9a46b4ec_o.png). (Also added to the first Flickr album I linked to, so the camera settings will be available.) ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-photographing-the-night-sky-lately-or-what-a-decent-camera-can-do/808418/13 "2018-02-09T09:52:31Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > BTW I managed to make it to a location that has a dark sky, about eleven miles distant from and nearly 3000 feet above my home. Not that it matters, most likely, but FTR I was misreading Google Earth, and mistook the eye altitude number for the terrestrial elevation. So the elevation where I took tonight’s photos is only about 2000’ above sea level and not 3300 like I thought. But damn! it was cold up there. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-photographing-the-night-sky-lately-or-what-a-decent-camera-can-do/808418/14 "2018-02-09T16:20:58Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Then again, your back yard is probably a lot more light-polluted than Monument Valley. > > What kind of gear and settings were you using? It was surprisingly hard to get at the original photo (thanks to Apple for abandoning Aperture)… Fujifilm X-Pro1, 60mm (90mm equiv), f/16, ISO200 for 950 sec ---
**Author:** ![BrushyBasin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c57346/32.png) [@BrushyBasin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrushyBasin)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-photographing-the-night-sky-lately-or-what-a-decent-camera-can-do/808418/15 "2018-02-09T20:28:19Z")
If you are getting into amateur astronomy, you should try out (free trial; about $50 for the full package) BACKYARD NIKON from [otelescope.com](http://otelescope.com). With a USB cable, this app allows you to remotely control most of the functions of your Nikon, and also lets you set up photo programs with various different exposures, f-stops, ASA, etc. Also, check out the digital camera forums at [cloudynights.com](http://cloudynights.com). These are a gold mine for tips, how-to-do, etc. Dark skies, a good tripod and a lawn chair and you are in business. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-photographing-the-night-sky-lately-or-what-a-decent-camera-can-do/808418/16 "2018-02-09T23:29:44Z")
> [@BrushyBasin](#): > > If you are getting into amateur astronomy, you should try out (free trial; about $50 for the full package) BACKYARD NIKON from [otelescope.com](http://otelescope.com). > > With a USB cable, this app allows you to remotely control most of the functions of your Nikon, and also lets you set up photo programs with various different exposures, f-stops, ASA, etc. > > Also, check out the digital camera forums at [cloudynights.com](http://cloudynights.com). These are a gold mine for tips, how-to-do, etc. > > Dark skies, a good tripod and a lawn chair and you are in business. Thanks, this is very good! I was planning to get a remote shutter release anyway. My camera is supposed to support something called Snapbridge, which would enable not only remote control but also wireless transfer to my Android phone, but it’s proved to be extremely balky. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-photographing-the-night-sky-lately-or-what-a-decent-camera-can-do/808418/17 "2018-02-10T00:02:39Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Wow, you’ve got some really nice effects here, including the auto light trails along the road. > > There’s one bright star trail near the top which is actually lavender in color–did it just come out that way? I didn’t colorize it, but I suspect that it probably doesn’t appear lavender to the naked eye. When I get home from the Ragnar, I’ll post one of the individual frames, and maybe we can figure out what star it is. ---
**Author:** ![BrushyBasin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c57346/32.png) [@BrushyBasin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrushyBasin)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-photographing-the-night-sky-lately-or-what-a-decent-camera-can-do/808418/18 "2018-02-10T01:48:05Z")
There is a good site for finding the best dark places for astronomy and… [http://darksitefinder.com/maps/world.html](http://darksitefinder.com/maps/world.html) After you check the weather, a last pre-flight should be: [www.cleardarksky.com](http://www.cleardarksky.com) If your camera supports RAW formats, by all means try these. These files are bigger than JPGs but contain much more native data and are ideal for more post-processing. Get out there and have fun! Photons are afoot. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-photographing-the-night-sky-lately-or-what-a-decent-camera-can-do/808418/19 "2018-02-10T22:04:04Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > I didn’t colorize it, but I suspect that it probably doesn’t appear lavender to the naked eye. When I get home from the Ragnar, I’ll post one of the individual frames, and maybe we can figure out what star it is. I used Stellarium set for the correct date and time, and I’m 99% sure that the lavender star is Vega. It’s so bright that it caused “purple fringing” on the 20mm lens I was using, which is why is appears the way is does in the stack. Here is a closeup of the first frame in the series: [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/4742/39293826275_47d548b8d8_n.jpg "Vega") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/11822576@N08/39293826275/in/dateposted-public/) ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-photographing-the-night-sky-lately-or-what-a-decent-camera-can-do/808418/20 "2018-02-12T05:46:19Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > I used Stellarium set for the correct date and time, and I’m 99% sure that the lavender star is Vega. It’s so bright that it caused “purple fringing” on the 20mm lens I was using, which is why is appears the way is does in the stack. Here is a closeup of the first frame in the series: > > [Vega | beowulff | Flickr](https://www.flickr.com/photos/11822576@N08/39293826275/in/dateposted-public/) I was already thinking it must be Vega, since there’s no other star as far north and so bright. How did you get that four-pointed star effect? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-photographing-the-night-sky-lately-or-what-a-decent-camera-can-do/808418.md?page=2)