DeepSkyCamera - Astrophotography & RAW images

This application is designed for capturing astrophotography using your smartphone. It allows you to take long-exposure photographs comparable to traditional astrophotography with DSLR or CCD/CMOS cameras.

DeepSkyCamera captures images of starry skies, including celestial bodies. The photographs are taken in RAW format, with Android utilizing the DNG format that can be processed through well-known stacking software.

Astrophotography requires more than just pressing a button; a solid understanding of astronomy and photography techniques is essential. This app caters to astronomers familiar with RAW files, stacking software, and post-processing methods. It is not intended for those seeking instant aesthetically pleasing images without effort. This tool aids astronomers and astrophotographers in capturing quality images, and for certain shots, having a telescope is necessary.

Your smartphone needs to support RAW mode and manual settings. The app checks for these capabilities upon launch. Generally, lower-end models (such as Samsung A and J series, Huawei P10 lite) may not support these features, whereas high-end devices (like Samsung S series, Huawei P9, P10, P20, LG G4 to G7) typically do.

The app allows for capturing light frames, flats, bias, and dark frames, which is quite similar to the process used with traditional DSLR or CCD/CMOS cameras. After capturing, you can perform post-processing with stacking and other image processing software.

The app can focus automatically to infinity or hyperfocal distances, as well as allow for manual focusing.

The maximum ISO sensitivity is determined by the camera sensor. Most sensors cap the ISO at 800, although you can enter a higher value; the sensor will limit it to its maximum capability. For example, the LG G can reach up to ISO 6400, while Google Pixel can go up to 12800.

Exposure times follow a similar pattern, with most sensors restricting the maximum duration to 30 seconds. You might input a longer exposure time, but the sensor will only operate within its highest allowed duration. Models like the LG G and Huawei P can handle exposures up to 30 seconds.

DeepSkyCamera specializes in taking photographs exclusively and is not intended for post-processing tasks.

A sample image features the constellation Ursa Major captured with the LG G4: it involved 256 light frames each lasting 30 seconds, totaling nearly 2 hours of exposure time, with 170 dark frames and 100 flat frames applied afterward using additional software for processing. The subsequent images display Cygnus taken with both LG G4 and LG G6, while the final picture illustrates M31 captured with LG G6 (with M33 visible below, along with a double star cluster and Cassiopeia positioned in the upper left corner).

A simple portable mount suitable for travel, like iOptron SkyTracker, AstroTrac, or StarAdventurer, can be used. You can place a ball head on top and attach a small phone tripod clip. The preview function, automatically displayed after launching the app, helps you adjust the ball head to align with the brightest stars.

An instruction manual is available.

Sample pictures

Here are some sample pictures I've taken with various devices and DeepSkyCamera app:

Sun and sunspot group NOAA 12836, 20.06.2021, 10:52 CEST, Google Pixel 5 (Takahashi TOA 130, 1500mm focal length, 1.5x Extender, APM Lunt 13mm 100 degrees eyepiece) , 400 DNG files each 1/9000 sec, ISO 55, processed with PIPP, Autostakkert, Registax, Photoshop CC

Partial solar eclipse, 10.06.2021, 12:26 CEST, Google Pixel 5 (Takahashi TOA 130, 1000mm focal length, Flattner, APM Lunt 13mm 100 degrees eyepiece) , single image, 1/10000 sec, ISO 55, processed with Photoshop CC

M51, 03.04.2021, 125 minutes total exposure time, Samsung A70 (Takahashi TOA 130, 1000mm focal length, Flattner, APM Lunt 13mm 100 degrees eyepiece) , 75 DNG files each 100 sec, ISO 400, processed with DeepSkyStacker, Fitswork, Photoshop CC

NGC 1977, Running Man, 100 minutes total exposure time, 13.02.2021, Xiaomi Redmi 9 (Takahashi TOA 130,1000mm focal length, Flattner, APM Lunt 13mm 100 degrees eyepiece) , 100 DNG files each 59 sec, ISO 200, processed with DeepSkyStacker, Fitswork, Photoshop CC

M78, Flammennebel, 53 minutes total exposure time, 12.01.2021, Google Pixel 4 (Takahashi TOA 130, 1000mm focal length, Flattner, APM Lunt 13mm 100 degrees eyepiece) , 100 DNG files each 32 sec, ISO 800, processed with DeepSkyStacker, Fitswork, Photoshop CC

M27, 07.11.2020, Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro (Takahashi TOA 130, 1000mm focal length, Flattner, APM Lunt 13mm 100 degrees eyepiece) , 200 DNG files each 32 sec, ISO 800, processed with DeepSkyStacker, Fitswork, Photoshop CC

Moon, 29.11.2020, Huawei P40 Pro (Takahashi TOA 130, 1000mm focal length, Flattner, APM Lunt 13mm 100 degrees eyepiece) , 500 Frames each 1/480 sec, ISO 50, processed with PIPP, Autostakkert, Registax, Photoshop CC

Orion nebula, 20.11.2020, Realme C3, single shot, extended shutter speed of 40 sec (Takahashi TOA 130, 1000mm focal length, Flattner, APM Lunt 13mm 100 degrees eyepiece) , processed with DeepSkyStacker, Fitswork, Photoshop CC

Mars, 14.11.2020, Honor 20 lite (Takahashi TOA 130, 1500mm focal length (1.5x Extender), Explore Scientific 6.7mm 82 degrees eyepiece) , 400 Frames each 1/430 sec, ISO 200, processed with PIPP, Autostakkert, Registax, Photoshop CC

Mars, 05.11.2020, Google Pixel 4 (Takahashi TOA 130, 1500mm focal length (1.5x Extender), Explore Scientific 6.7mm 82 degrees eyepiece) , 500 Frames each 1/670 sec, ISO 100, processed with PIPP, Autostakkert, Registax, Photoshop CC

Sun, 09.11.2020, Google Pixel 4 (Takahashi TOA 130, 1000mm focal length, Flattner, APM Lunt 13mm 100 degrees eyepiece) , 350 Frames each 1/6000 sec, ISO 55, processed with PIPP, Autostakkert, Registax, Photoshop CC