How to photograph the night sky with your phone

You don’t need a big camera to photograph stars any more. Modern phones stack many short exposures into one clean image, and with a little preparation they can capture star fields, bright meteors and even auroras. The cover photo above was taken on a Google Pixel 4a with an exposure of about 13 seconds, according to the file’s metadata. These are the steps that make the biggest difference.

Pick a dark spot and check the Moon

Light is the enemy. Street lights and a bright Moon wash out faint stars far more than any phone sensor limitation. Drive away from towns if you can (a light-pollution map helps), and plan around the lunar calendar: the nights around the new Moon are best, and on other nights wait until the Moon has set.

Keep the phone perfectly still

Night modes need long exposures, and long exposures need a steady phone. A small tripod with a phone clamp costs little and is the single best upgrade. In a pinch, prop the phone against a backpack or a rock. Phones detect stability and reward it. Google says Pixel’s Astrophotography mode can run for up to four minutes when the phone is on a tripod or another stable surface. Apple’s Night mode can extend to 30 seconds when an iPhone detects it is mounted and the scene is dark enough. Handheld, both use much shorter exposures.

Let night or astro mode do the work

Use the built-in mode before reaching for third-party apps:

• Google Pixel: open Night Sight. On a tripod in a dark place, Astrophotography switches on automatically and merges a series of roughly 16-second exposures.
• iPhone (iPhone 11 and later): Night mode turns on by itself in low light. Tap the Night mode icon and drag the slider to Max for the longest exposure.
• Samsung Galaxy: Samsung’s free Expert RAW app offers an Astrophoto mode on supported models.
• Other Android phones: look for Night or Pro (manual) mode, where you can set shutter speed and ISO yourself.

Use the main camera and don’t zoom

The main (1×) camera usually has the largest sensor and the brightest lens, so it gathers the most light. Ultra-wide and telephoto cameras are usually smaller and noisier in the dark, and digital zoom only enlarges the noise. Shoot wide and crop later if you need to.

Focus at infinity and lock exposure

Autofocus struggles with tiny points of light. Tap on the brightest star, a planet or a distant street light, then hold to lock focus and exposure (AE/AF lock on most phones). In Pro mode, set manual focus to infinity, then check a zoomed-in preview, because on some lenses “infinity” is slightly off.

Use a timer instead of your finger

Pressing the shutter shakes the phone. Set a 3- or 10-second self-timer, use wired earphones or a Bluetooth remote, or use a voice command. On a tripod this one habit removes most blur.

Shoot RAW if your phone offers it

RAW files (Apple ProRAW, Samsung Expert RAW, DNG on many Android phones) keep much more detail in the shadows and let you fix white balance afterwards without ruining the image. They are larger, so turn RAW off again for daytime shots if storage is tight.

Add a foreground for scale

A sky full of stars looks better with something on the ground: a tree line, a hill, a building or a person standing still. Put the horizon low in the frame, and try a few shots during blue hour, when the foreground still shows detail and the first stars appear.

Protect your night vision and your battery

Your eyes need roughly 20–30 minutes in the dark to adapt fully. Turn screen brightness down, use dark mode and use a red light rather than a white torch. Cold drains phone batteries fast, so keep the phone in an inside pocket between shots and bring a power bank. Our USB-C charger guide explains what fast charging your phone supports.

Edit lightly

Bring up exposure and shadows a little, cool the white balance to remove orange light pollution, and add a touch of contrast. Push noise reduction and sharpening too far and the stars turn into smudges. If you photographed a meteor, check the frames before and after it: phones often catch faint streaks you missed by eye.

What a phone can’t do: it won’t show galaxies, nebulae or planetary detail the way a telescope does. For that, see our guide to your first telescope. For what professional instruments can see, read about the James Webb telescope’s mystery emission in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field.