3D tool

Astrophotography Stacker

A simulated stacking run over a synthetic deep-sky frame sequence. Select frames, choose an alignment method and a stacking mode, apply dark and flat calibration, then play the stack and watch noise fall as the signal emerges.

Simulated values for education. Orbits and geometry are simplified; results are approximations, not an ephemeris and not a substitute for your equipment manual.

Single frame

Stacked result

Stack progress

Frames (click to include or exclude)

Diagram of an astrophotography imaging rig — telescope, off-axis guider, camera, filters

This browser cannot provide the canvas stacking preview. The numeric results below — frame count, SNR, recommended total integration — are the same ones the simulation produces.

Stack settings

Fourteen synthetic frames of a galaxy field.

Alignment

Stacking mode

Sub-exposure (seconds)

Dark subtraction

Flat-field correction

Results

Frames stacked	—
Total integration	—
Theoretical gain	—
Measured SNR gain	—
Residual noise	—

Recommendation

Controls

Frames — select or deselect individual frames in the sequence
Alignment — none, centroid, or star-pattern alignment
Stacking mode — average, median, or sigma-clipped
Calibration — dark subtraction and flat-field correction
Playback — animate the stack and compare single frame against result

What it produces

Signal-to-noise gain — improvement relative to a single frame
Frames stacked — number of frames accepted into the stack
Total exposure time — frames × sub-exposure length
Recommended frame count — how many more frames are worth taking

Without canvas support the stacker shows a static before-and-after comparison and the same numeric results — noise reduction, frame count and total integration time.

Stargazer's Atlas is an independent educational reference. Simulations model approximate behaviour and do not predict what your equipment will show.