this post was submitted on 17 Sep 2026
101 points (100.0% liked)

Astrophotography

4281 readers
3 users here now

Welcome to !astrophotography!

We are Lemmy's dedicated astrophotography community!

If you want to see or post pictures of space taken by amateurs using amateur level equipment, this is the place for you!

If you want to learn more about taking astro photos, check out our wiki or our discord!

Please read the rules before you post! It is your responsibility to be aware of current rules. Failure to be aware of current rules may result in your post being removed without warning at moderator discretion.

Rules




If your post is removed, try reposting with a different title. Don't hesitate to message the mods if you still have questions!


founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Hello!

While shooting with my camera and star tracker, I thought I'd try a Milky Way shot with my phone.

That's me pointing up!

Single 30 sec shot with a Galaxy S25.

Used my shoe as a tripod, set a 10 second timer and ran to lie down in time lol

I also put my gfs phone on the other shoe with the display unlocked facing us, as a very faint diffuse light so that we appear bright enough in the foreground.

Edited in free mobile Lightroom, just cropped a bit and then played around with contrast, brightness, saturation and denoise. Took the photo in RAW format, if you attempt it yourself this helps a lot during editing.

It's surprising how much detail you can get out of a phone camera these days...

Feedback appreciated!

top 13 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] TheJesusaurus@piefed.ca 11 points 4 days ago (1 children)

The stars are gorgeous but that moon is truly something special

[–] TIN@feddit.uk 7 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Amazing shot! Where were you to get that clarity on the milky way?

[–] Zer0_F0x@lemmy.world 5 points 4 days ago

Thanks! You need a really dark sky for this much clarity, away from light pollution.

You can use something like lightpollutionmap.info to find the darkest skies near you.

I took this one from a Bortle 3 spot, which is pretty much the best I can hope for where I live.

The only way to get darker skies than this without going to the top of a tall mountain is the middle of a desert, or generally over 30 miles from the nearest artificial light source.

[–] dkppunk@piefed.social 4 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

This reminds me of when I went camping in the desert. My buddy woke me in the middle of the night and told me to come outside and look at the stars. I unzipped the tent, looked up, and saw the most beautiful scene of the Milky Way I’ve ever seen in my 40+ years. Seeing it with my own eyes was better than any photograph could capture (though yours is fantastic)

Thank you for reminding me of that memory 💚

[–] Zer0_F0x@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I first went camping at that same beach 3 years ago.

It was a really warm summer night and I woke up at 2 am all sweaty. No wind at all. The sea was like glass and that same milky way was high in the sky.

Woke my gf up and we went for a swim at 2am... There are bioluminescent algae in the water, which we didn't know, which gave out a faint light if you disturbed the water. Sparkles all around!

Top 3 memory to this day, like a fever dream.

Glad I reminded you of yours!

[–] dkppunk@piefed.social 2 points 4 days ago

That sounds like a lovely memory! Thank you for sharing 💚

[–] MedicPigBabySaver@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago
[–] crandall@lemmy.today 3 points 4 days ago (1 children)
[–] Zer0_F0x@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Indeed it did! It's a single photo with no AI or fake edit tricks involved. If you have semi-decent phone, clear dark skies and a bit of time to tinker with the settings, you can do it too.

I'm considering taking multiple shots with a tripod next time to stack later and really push what this phone can deliver, hopefully soon if the weather clears up!

[–] crandall@lemmy.today 3 points 4 days ago

Amazing. Makes me wanna give it a shot. Never taken a picture anything like this!

[–] albbi@piefed.ca 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

The light on the two of you was brilliant. Love the picture!

[–] Zer0_F0x@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago

Thank you! For a 30 sec exposure you really only need a tiny amount of light, so just leaving the display on at ~2m away does the trick in a pinch!