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When delving into the captivating world of astrophotography, having the best astrophotography software at your disposal can significantly elevate your stargazing experience. While a quality camera is undoubtedly a key component, your smartphone can now become a valuable tool as well. To maximize your astronomical endeavors, we recommend that you equip yourself with these premier night sky photography apps. The challenge often lies in finding a trustworthy astrophotography program with a robust database, an intuitive user interface, and a plethora of features.
Many astronomical software options were initially developed in the early 2000s and have since languished without updates, resulting in numerous bugs and incompatibility issues with newer software. Therefore, to make the most of your astrophotography journey, these top astrophotography software options stand out as essential companions.
The greatest picture editing software can turn uninteresting, ordinary photos into magnificent works of photographic art. If you know how to do it correctly, image editing is beneficial for all types of photography, but especially for astrophotography.
Best Astrophotography Software Comparison Table
Software Title | Main Features | Compatibility | Price |
---|---|---|---|
SkySafari 7 Pro | Software for controlling a planetarium and a telescope, a large database of celestial objects, and tools for planning and recording observations. | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux | $49.99 (mobile), $99.99 (desktop) |
SharpCap | Software for controlling the camera, stacking and processing live video, tools for focusing and aligning the camera, and support for autoguiding | Windows | Free (basic version), $15 (Pro version) |
DeepSkyStacker | Software for stacking and aligning images, tools for batch processing and reducing noise | Windows | Free |
PixInsight | Image processing software with advanced tools for reducing noise and adjusting colors and support for RAW image formats | Windows, macOS, Linux | €220 (personal license), €440 (professional license) |
Capture One Pro 23 | RAW image processing software, advanced tools for correcting colors and adjusting images, and the ability to shoot while tethered. | Windows, macOS | $299 (perpetual license) |
StarStaX | Software for stacking images, tools for focus stacking and time-lapse photography, and support for both still and video formats. | Windows, macOS, Linux | €39.99 (standard license), €69.99 (pro license) |
Adobe Lightroom | Software for processing and organizing RAW images, advanced tools for adjusting and retouching images, and support for presets and plug-ins. | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android | $9.99/month (Photography Plan) or $20.99/month (Single App Plan) |
SkySafari 7 Pro

Details | |
---|---|
Operating System | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android |
Database | Over 25 million stars |
Telescope Control | Yes |
Multi-Device Sync | Yes |
Advanced Search | Yes |
Time Controls | Yes |
Image Overlays | Yes |
This program for keeping an eye on the night sky has one of the largest databases of celestial objects. It also talks about skywatching as a community activity with built-in ways to share.
That can be sent to others via text, email, or another instant messaging service to share specific night sky objects with them. These special tricks include the ability to control telescopes via the SkyFi 3 wireless telescope control. Download SkySafari from apple store.
The Good
- A big database of stars and other things in the sky
- Telescope control feature
- Multi-device sync for convenience
The BAD
- This astronomy software is more expensive than other ones.
SharpCap

Details | |
---|---|
Operating System | Windows |
Camera Control | Yes |
Live Stacking | Yes |
Polar Alignment | Yes |
Plate Solving | Yes |
Focus Assistance | Yes |
Astrophotographers can employ a growing number of tools available in SharpCap. It offers a quick and simple way to view the input from your camera, to start. Download SharpCap from its officially website
This feature is great for framing, focusing, and aligning your telescope, as well as taking planetary films or a series of pictures of deep sky targets. SharpCap works with a wide range of cameras, such as those that use ASCOM, DirectShow, native drivers, or frame grabbers.
The Good
- Controls for the camera for astrophotography.
- Live stacking is used for image processing in real time.
- Plate solving is used to put telescopes in the right place.
The BAD
- It doesn’t work well with other operating systems.
- For new users, advanced features can be overwhelming.
DeepSkyStacker

Details | |
---|---|
Operating System | Windows |
Image Alignment | Yes |
Stacking | Yes |
Light Pollution Removal | Yes |
Batch Processing | Yes |
RAW File Support | Yes |
DeepSkyStacker is a great piece of software for astrophotography. It makes it easier to do the things that need to be done before a picture can be made. This is because you can put all of your photos into one high-resolution file and have it register itself.
You can easily organize all of your top light frames in Adobe Bridge (or any other image viewer that works with RAW files), and then you can send those pictures to DSS to register and stack them. Download DeepSkyStacker from its officially website.
The Good
- Image stacking and processing software that is free to use
- For efficiency, batch processing is used.
- Getting rid of light pollution so we can see better
The BAD
- Only Windows operating systems are allowed
- No telescope control features
PixInsight

Details | |
---|---|
Operating System | Windows, macOS |
Image Calibration | Yes |
Image Processing | Yes |
Noise Reduction | Yes |
Star Removal | Yes |
Multithreaded | Yes |
PixInsight is the best program for planetary and deep-sky astrophotography because it has everything you need to take and edit astronomical photos. Even though it does great things, it takes a lot of time, is hard to learn, and costs a lot.
Yet it is strongly advised if you are serious about astrophotography. There is a free trial available, and LightVortex Astronomy offers a ton of free lessons if you want to try it out. Download Pixlnsight from its officially website.
The Good
- Image processing and calibration tools that are more advanced
- Multiple threads make processing go faster.
- Noise reduction and removing stars are two features that make images clearer.
The BAD
- Compared to other astronomy software, it is expensive.
Capture One Pro 23

Details | |
---|---|
Operating System | Windows, macOS |
Camera Control | Yes |
RAW File Support | Yes |
Color Correction | Yes |
Tethered Shooting | Yes |
Layers and Masks | Yes |
The focus of Capture One Pro is tethering and studio photography, making it another tool that uses the Lightroom template rather than the Photoshop one. Download Capture One Pro 23 from its officially website.
Capture One Pro is all about making colors look their best, and it has a wide range of tools for color grading and editing. There aren’t many things that it can’t do well. We think this could be a great way to change the colors in photos of nebulae and dust clouds in space that were taken in the deep sky.
The Good
- Editing and color correction tools that are more advanced
- Tethering to make shooting easier
- Layers and masks let you do more complex editing
The BAD
- Compared to other photo editing software.
- it is expensive and only works with some camera models.
StarStaX

Details | |
---|---|
Operating System | Windows, macOS, Linux |
Image Stacking | Yes |
Light Trails | Yes |
Batch Processing | Yes |
RAW File Support | Yes |
This free star stacking software was made so that multiple images of the night sky can be made to look like a single, long exposure. If you put a lot of wide-field astrophotos into the software, it will automatically align and combine the photos to make it look like the photos were taken over a long period of time and show star trails.
Due to pixel warm-up and long exposure noise that gradually infiltrates over time, employing this program (and this technique) results in star trails with significantly lower image noise and optical distortion than one long exposure could produce alone. Download StartStax.
The Good
- There is free software for stacking photos and making light trails.
- For efficiency, batch processing is used.
- able to work with more than one operating system.
The BAD
- Compared to more advanced software, it has fewer features.
- No telescope control features
Adobe Lightroom

Details | |
---|---|
Operating System | Windows, macOS |
Camera Control | No |
RAW File Support | Yes |
Color Correction | Yes |
Batch Processing | Yes |
Presets | Yes |
Adobe Lightroom is one of the best programs for editing photos when you need a quick and easy way to change, clean up, and store a lot of photos. Lightroom is a powerful photo editing program that is easy to learn and is used by professional and serious photographers.
Even better, Lightroom saves your photos right away to the cloud and lets you edit them using the same or a similar Lightroom interface, no matter if you’re on your phone, tablet, or computer. The website for Adobe Lightroom makes it easy to download.
The Good
- Advanced tools for changing colors and editing.
- Efficiency through batch processing.
- Sets of edits that can be made quickly.
The BAD
- Compared to other photo editing software, it is expensive.
FAQs
What astrophotography software is available for free?
Registax. Registax is software that was made to process, stack, and align pictures of the solar system. It’s a great tool that works great with photos of the moon and planets. It costs nothing. Registax helped me line up and stack my high-magnification photos of Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars.
What astrophotography setup is ideal for beginners?
Beginners often use a small star tracker for their first try at wide-angle astrophotography. Both the iOptron SkyTracker Pro and the Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer are great camera mounts for people who are just starting out. This means that you can take long-exposure photos of deep-sky objects like nebulae and galaxies.
What is software for astrophotography?
Astrophotography software is made to help astrophotographers take pictures of the night sky, process them, and make them look better.