01 · Hold it still
Point your phone up.
Clean the main camera lens. Put the phone on a small tripod, lean it securely against something solid, or place it face-down with the camera looking through a stable opening. The important part is simple: it must not move while the photo is taken.
Choose the darkest place you can reasonably reach and point away from nearby lamps. Looking high overhead usually gives you clearer sky than looking near the horizon.
02 · DeepSkyCamera
Choose “Lights.”
Open DeepSkyCamera on Android. In the picture settings, choose Type: Lights. “Lights” simply means normal photographs of the stars.
If your phone offers a RAW option, use it. RAW keeps more of the image data. If your phone only saves JPEG photos, that is fine too.
03 · Easy settings
Let in as much starlight as you can.
| Type | Lights |
|---|---|
| Frames | 1 |
| Exposure | The longest your phone allows. Start around 30 to 60 seconds |
| Sensitivity (ISO) | Start at 800; try 1600 if the image looks very dark |
| Focus | Infinity |
| Delay | 5 seconds, so touching the button does not shake the phone |
04 · Take the picture
Tap once, then step away.
Press the shutter and do not touch the phone until it finishes. Check the result: if you can see stars, you have something worth uploading. It does not need to look dramatic. NightTrace uses the visible star pattern to map what the camera captured.
If the photo is completely black, try ISO 1600. If it is washed out by city glow, shorten the exposure a little. That is all the troubleshooting most first attempts need.
05 · NightTrace
Upload the original file.
Send the original RAW file (often saved as DNG) or a full-size JPEG straight from the phone. Do not use a screenshot or a version compressed by social media. Base star mapping is free, and your browser starts with 3 Trace credits for deeper overlay layers.
Want the app’s full reference? Read the official DeepSkyCamera 2.1.7 manual.