Capturing the Hercules Constellation with a Smartphone: An Untracked Adventure

Astrophotography often conjures images of specialized, expensive equipment. However, the possibilities for capturing the wonders of the night sky are expanding rapidly, even with readily available technology. In this post, we delve into a fascinating attempt to photograph the Hercules constellation using a Xiaomi 14T Pro smartphone – completely untracked!

The Challenge: No Mount, Just a Tripod

The most significant hurdle in deep-sky astrophotography is compensating for the Earth's rotation. Traditionally, this requires an equatorial mount that tracks the apparent movement of celestial objects. This project, however, embraced the challenge of capturing Hercules with nothing more than a standard tripod. This means the camera remains stationary, and exposures must be kept short enough to avoid star trailing.

Acquisition Details: Pushing the Limits

The acquisition process for this image demonstrates a clever approach to working within the constraints of untracked astrophotography:

• Camera: Xiaomi 14T Pro
• Mount: Standard tripod
• Lights: 75 frames x 20 seconds each. This strategy of taking many shorter exposures is crucial when untracked, allowing for stacking to improve signal-to-noise ratio without excessive trailing.
• ISO: 1600. A balance between light sensitivity and noise.
• Total Exposure Time: 25 minutes. Despite individual exposures being short, the cumulative time builds up valuable data.
• Calibration Frames: 20x20" Darks. Darks are essential for reducing thermal noise. The inclusion of dark frames with the same exposure time as the lights is a standard practice.
• Flats: No Flats were used. Flats are typically used to correct for vignetting and dust motes. Their absence might indicate a desire to simplify the process or that these effects were deemed minimal.
• Bortle Scale: 6. This indicates a moderately light-polluted environment, often found in suburban areas. Overcoming light pollution is a common challenge in astrophotography.

Processing: Bringing Out the Details

Post-processing is where raw data transforms into a captivating image. The workflow employed here highlights modern astrophotography software capabilities:

• Stacking: Siril was used for stacking the light frames. Siril is a powerful, free, and open-source astrophotography software widely used for its stacking and calibration capabilities.
• Gradient Removal: GraXpert was employed to remove background gradients. Light pollution and sky glow can create unwanted gradients across the image, which GraXpert effectively addresses.
• Sharpening, Upscaling, and Denoising: Astro Cosmic Clarity was used for these crucial steps. This software likely enhanced the detail, increased the resolution of the image, and reduced any remaining noise.
• Editing and Color Correction: Luminar Neo was the final touch, used for overall editing and color correction to bring out the visual appeal of the Hercules constellation.

The Result: A Testament to Ingenuity

Capturing a recognizable image of the Hercules constellation with a smartphone on a simple tripod is a significant achievement. It showcases that with careful planning, strategic acquisition, and modern processing techniques, the barriers to entry in astrophotography are becoming increasingly permeable. This project inspires aspiring astronomers and photographers to look at the equipment they have and consider what celestial wonders they might be able to reveal with a little ingenuity.