r/DWARFLAB

With the recent Stellar Studio update I have gone through and reprocessed all my data captured to date (note: I've only uploaded my favourites here). The ability to separate the stars is main reason for this as there is far more control available in post-processing.

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Someone asked me to share my workflow, which I'm adding here in case of interest:

Stellar Studio

• ‘Stars Only’
• ‘Star Reduction’
• Export PNG
• ‘Star Removal’
• Export PNG

Lightroom Classic

• Import ‘Starless’ PNG
• Preset: ’Galaxy’ or ‘Nebula’ (note: these are presets I have made to achieve the look I'm after)
• Export ‘Starless’ PNG

Affinity Photo 2

• Stack ‘Stars’ and ‘Starless’ PNGs
• Blend: Screen
• StarShrink to ‘Stars’ Layer
• NoiseXTerminator to ‘Starless’ Layer
• Merge Selected
• Export Final PNG

Lightroom Classic

• Import Final PNG
• Export Final JPEG

I’ve been working on an app called AstroFinish.

Basically, I wanted a way to take telescope/smart telescope captures and actually finish them on my iPhone without needing to jump straight into a full desktop workflow.

AstroFinish lets you import images, batches, and FITS sessions, then use astro-specific tools like nebula reveal, denoise, star reduction, sky cleanup, color correction, before/after preview, and export.

The big thing: it’s local-first.
No account. No tracking. No cloud upload. Your photos stay on your device.

I’m still early with it and looking for real feedback from people who shoot the night sky. I’d love to know what feels useful, what feels gimmicky, and what features would make this actually fit into your workflow.

App Store:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/astrofinish/id6763904575

Also, I’m especially curious if mobile FITS editing is something people actually want, or if most people would only use this for quick JPG/PNG finishing.

M5 taken with Dwarf 2, 3d printed star spike mask, no filter, 256/10s/60g, processed in Siril and Gimp

Dwarf 3, 27 hours of intergration of 15, 30 and 60 second subs gain 60 EQ mode perfect alignment. Taken from NSW Australia

Just so much ongoing fun…highlights from the iPhone camera roll, all taken from brutal Bortle 9 Los Angeles skies…can’t wait for a desert trip!

DWARF mini from Bortle 4-5, Cessy, France

40x60sec Astro filter in EQ mode, stack processed in PI

The three galaxies are more blur than I like, but I guess given the light pollution it is what it is.

280 shots stack, not much post processing

60 seconds per exposure at a total of 3 hours of total exposure time. Gain is 60, and the Mini is in EQ Mode.

Managed to stack about 400 frames of m51 for my mega stack (still working on it have about 1k subs so far)

M51 389 frames, 30 second, 60 gain, duo band, Bortle 7, Processes in stellar studio.

C33 150 ish frames 30 second 60 gain, duo band Bortle 7.

The scheduling feature has really helped me capture stuff I don’t want to wake up for 😅.

Couple features that would make the app better:

A way to see in the metadata of a stacked image, to see how many images are in the stack.

Also an overlay of the favorited objects in the skywatcher view and also an overlay of skywatcher objects in the atlas.

I am in awe of how many galaxies I can spot in this picture. Bought my Dwarf for a weekend at Joshua Tree National Park and it did not disappoint!

45 sec exposure, 60 gain.

So I stayed up all night picking targets for the Dwarf Mini from Bortle 9. Even the solar mode before dark impressed me for the size and price.

I'm trying to learn what looks good just by editing with my phone. So far reddit hates my pictures. This is from a dwarf 3 at 60s/60g astro. I'm just trying to learn.

M81 was shot over two different sessions at 60 exposure and 40 gain with 331 pictures in the stack.

M5 was also shot the exact same way but with 292 photos so far.

Processing was all done in Stellar Studio and I'm pretty impressed with the quality so far but I'll probably finish the photos in Lightroom.