A wide-field astrophotography image captured with a Xiaomi 14T Pro and a Teseek 3rd-generation star tracker.

Acquisition

• Xiaomi 14T Pro — 60mm-equivalent telephoto
• 30s | ISO 1600
• 440 light frames + 50 darks + 50 biases
• 3h 40m total integration
• Teseek 3rd-generation star tracker

The field includes the Pleiades (M45), the Hyades star cluster, and the California Nebula (NGC 1499). It also captures the surrounding Milky Way star field, fainter nebulosity, and IC 417 (the Spider Nebula) in the lower-left region.

Processing

• Siril: cropping; BGE background extraction; background neutralization and color calibration; aberration correction
• Cosmic Clarity: sharpening and denoising
• StarNet++: star separation
• Siril: separate stretching of the star and starless images
• Photoshop: star recomposition and final adjustments

A smartphone astrophotography collaboration with u/zTrojan. The data acquisition and stacking are his work. I handled the entire post-processing workflow. Thanks to u/zTrojan for providing the stack!

Acquisition

• Imaging device: Xiaomi 13 Ultra, 3.2× telephoto
• Exposure: 50s at ISO 800
• Lights: 45
• Darks: 135
• Integration time: 37m 30s
• Main optics: Sky-Watcher 150/750 Newtonian telescope
• Mount: EQ3-2 with OnStep
• Guiding: SVBONY SV106 + ZWO ASI120MM Mini
• Eyepiece: SVBONY SV190 18mm Ultra Flat Field
• Phone adapter: SVBONY SV214 Pro 3-Axis Universal Smartphone Adapter
• Stacking: Astro Pixel Processor

Processing

• Siril: cropping, BGE background extraction, background neutralization, color calibration and aberration correction
• StarNet++: star separation
• Siril: separate stretching of the starless image and star layer
• Photoshop: star recomposition and final adjustments

For this collaboration, I focused on the post-processing side, working with the background and stars separately before recombining them into the final image.

A collaboration with u/zTrojan. Huge thanks to him for providing the stack and giving me the opportunity to work on this image. He handled the acquisition and stacking, while I handled the entire post-processing workflow.

Acquisition

• Xiaomi 13 Ultra — 5× periscope telephoto
• 30s | ISO 3200
• 1,208 light frames + darks + biases
• 10h 4m total integration
• EQ mount with OnStep
• Stacked in Astro Pixel Processor

The frame captures the Heart Nebula (IC 1805) and Soul Nebula (IC 1848) together.

Processing

I handled the entire post-processing:

• Siril: color calibration; BGE background extraction; data stretching; green-noise removal; StarNet++ starless processing
• AstroSharp: sharpening and detail enhancement
• GraXpert: denoising
• Photoshop: including mask work, and final adjustments
• Camera Raw: final color and contrast correction

More than 10 hours of integration went into this image, allowing the faint emission structures surrounding the Heart and Soul Nebulae to be brought out while keeping the dense star field under control.

A night-sky timelapse captured with nothing but a Xiaomi 14T Pro and a tripod.

Acquisition

• Xiaomi 14T Pro — 1x, main camera
• 15s exposure, 2s interval between shots
• 930 RAW/DNG frames
• Tripod — no star tracker or additional equipment
• ~4h 23m total capture time

The camera was left fixed on the tripod for the entire session, allowing the Earth's rotation to create the movement of the stars across the frame.

Processing

This is my own work, from capture to the final timelapse.

I processed the individual frames to maintain consistent exposure, color and contrast throughout the sequence, then assembled them into the final timelapse.

A collaboration with u/zTrojan. He provided the stack, and I handled the entire post-processing workflow. This is my first time working with Andromeda. A huge thank you to u/zTrojan for providing the stack and giving me this opportunity!

Acquisition

• Xiaomi 13 Ultra — 5× periscope telephoto
• 30s | ISO 3200
• 1,661 light frames + darks + biases
• 13h 50m 30s total integration
• EQ mount with OnStep
• Stacked in Astro Pixel Processor

The field includes the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) along with M32, M110 and NGC 206.

Processing

I handled the entire post-processing:

• Siril: color calibration; green-noise removal; BGE background extraction; data stretching
• GraXpert + Cosmic Clarity: denoising
• Photoshop: work with masks for the background and main object; stellar deconvolution; sharpening and additional detail enhancement; Camera Raw adjustments for final color and contrast
• Final: image crop and final composition

I've also included a region map showing the main objects visible in the field.

Nearly 14 hours of integration went into this image, allowing us to bring out a lot of the faint structure around Andromeda while retaining detail in the galaxy itself!

A collaboration with u/ZrlSyM, featuring the rich Milky Way around Scorpius and Sagittarius. He handled the acquisition and stacking, while I handled the entire post-processing workflow.

Acquisition

• Xiaomi 13T — 2× telephoto
• 50 mm | f/1.9 | ISO 800 | 30s
• 452 light frames + 45 darks
• ~3h 46m total integration
• Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer Mini
• Bortle 3 backyard
• Data collected over 2 nights
• Stacked in Sequator

The image was captured using the phone's telephoto camera with the 1/2.88" OmniVision OV50D sensor. As the author mentioned, the small sensor and softer telephoto optics make this region quite challenging to capture, even with a star tracker, with coma becoming noticeable toward the edges of the frame.

Processing

I handled the entire post-processing:

• Siril: color calibration; green-noise removal; background extraction
• SetiAstroPro: noise reduction algorithms
• StarNet++: starless processing and creation of separate star and nebula masks
• Photoshop: final curves, mask editing and Camera Raw finishing

This region of the Milky Way is packed with interesting objects, including the Lagoon Nebula, Trifid Nebula, Omega Nebula, Small Sagittarius Star Cloud, Butterfly Cluster, and numerous globular and open clusters across Scorpius and Sagittarius.

I've also included a region map showing some of the main objects and constellations visible in the field.

Huge thanks to u/ZrlSyM for collecting and stacking the data. This was a really enjoyable image to work with, especially considering the limitations of the small telephoto sensor

This is collaboration with u/zTrojan: he handled the acquisition and stacking, while I handled the entire post-processing workflow.

Deep-sky image made with a smartphone, using the built-in 5× periscope telephoto of the Xiaomi 13 Ultra.

Acquisition

• Xiaomi 13 Ultra — 5× periscope telephoto
• ISO 3200 | 30s
• 1,188 light frames (RAW/DNG)
• UHC filter
• Darks + bias frames
• Total integration: 9h 54m
• EQ mount with OnStep
• Stacked in Astro Pixel Processor with 2× drizzle

Processing

The workflow was the same as in the previous collaboration:

• Siril: color calibration; green-noise removal; GraXpert background extraction, stellar deconvolution and denoise; saturation adjustment
• StarNet++: starless processing and creation of separate star and nebula masks
• Photoshop: final curves, mask editing and Camera Raw finishing

The nearly 10-hour integration allowed us to bring out a lot of the faint reflection nebulosity surrounding the Pleiades, while still keeping the bright central cluster under control.

The field contains several catalogued objects, including NGC 1432, NGC 1435, IC 349, IC 354 and NGC 1456. I've also included a region map showing the main objects covered by the image.

Huge thanks again to u/zTrojan for the capture and stack. It's always interesting to see how far a smartphone telephoto can be pushed with a proper tracking setup and enough integration time!

This was a collaboration with u/zTrojan: he handled the acquisition and stacking, while I took care of the post-processing.

A deep-field view of the Cygnus region, captured with a Xiaomi 13 Ultra using its 3.2× telephoto camera.

Acquisition

• Xiaomi 13 Ultra — 3.2× telephoto
• ISO 800 | 50s
• 356 light frames (RAW/DNG)
• 4h 56m 40s total integration
• SVBONY UHC filter
• EQ mount with OnStep
• Darks included
• Stacked in Astro Pixel Processor

My processing workflow

• Siril: color calibration, green-noise removal, GraXpert background extraction, stellar deconvolution, and saturation adjustment
• StarNet++: created a separate starless layer and nebula masks for more controlled stretching
• Photoshop: final curve adjustments, mask refinement, Camera Raw finishing, and overall cosmetic corrections

The goal was to bring out as much of the faint structure in the Cygnus Milky Way as possible while keeping the star field under control. The field contains a huge number of targets, including the North America Nebula, Pelican Nebula, Crescent Nebula, Veil Nebula, and surrounding emission and dust structures.

I've also included a region map showing the main objects covered by the image.

Huge thanks to u/zTrojan for the capture and stack — this was a really fun image to work with.

[23 mm • f/1.6 • ISO 400 • 20 s] × 469 Light frames + 50 Dark frames (2 h 40m total integration time)
Stacked in Sequator.
Processed in Siril: green noise removal, Graxpert script background extraction+deconvolution objects, colour calibration, saturation adjustment, and starless stretching using StarNet++ to create separate star and Milky Way masks.
Finalized in Photoshop: final curve adjustments + camera raw.
Untracked, shot using only a smartphone mounted on a static tripod under Bortle 5 skies.
Shot on a Xiaomi 14T Pro using the main Light Fusion 900 sensor.

Date: July 24, 2026

Equipment: 700mm focal length telescope, 25mm eyepiece + Xiaomi 14T Pro (Main Sensor)

Method: Single frame, handheld eyepiece projection (shot by hand, no phone mount/fixator)

Single exposure processed in Adobe Lightroom (adjusted contrast, highlights, and shadow levels)

[23 mm • f/1.6 • ISO 2500 • 15 s] × 100 Light frames + 250 Dark frames (25 min total integration time)

UPD: Reddit heavily compressed the image. For the best quality, download the image to your device and view it locally.

Stacked in Sequator.

Processed in Siril: green noise removal, background extraction, colour calibration, saturation adjustment, and starless stretching using StarNet++ to create separate star and Milky Way masks.

Denoised in GraXpert.

Finalized in Photoshop: final curve adjustments, saturation, colour calibration, and channel mixing.

Untracked, shot using only a smartphone mounted on a static tripod under Bortle 5 skies.

Shot on a Xiaomi 14T Pro using the main Light Fusion 900 sensor.

Explore this region of the sky: Legacy Survey Viewer

[ 23 mm • F/1.6 • ISO 2500 • 15s ] x 100 L + 100 D (25 min total integration time)

Stacked in Sequator.

Processed in Siril: green noise removal, background extraction, colour calibration and saturation, starless stretching using StarNet++ for separate star and Milky Way masks.

Finalized in Photoshop: final curves corrections, saturation, color calibration, and channel mixing.

Untracked, shot using only a smartphone mounted on a static tripod in a Bortle 5 location.

Shot on Xiaomi 14T Pro using the main Light Fusion 900 sensor.

[ 23 mm • F/1.6 • ISO 800 • 20s ] x 20 L + 50 D (400s total integration time)

Stacked in Sequator. Post-processed in Siril, finalized in Photoshop.

Untracked, shot using only a smartphone mounted on a static tripod in a Bortle 5 location.

Shot on Xiaomi 14T Pro using the main Light Fusion 900 sensor.

This is my first attempt at capturing the Milky Way core.