Planning and a logbook for deep-sky imaging

Track what you've captured and plan the next night

DeepSkyLog reads your FITS collection and your new NINA captures and keeps track of what each target still needs. It also shows imaging windows and the weather at your locations, so you can plan the next session knowing what you already have.

Only metadata is imported. Your FITS files stay on your own storage, so keep your backups.

Explore the demo Bring in your data
The DeepSkyLog dashboard showing project and exposure totals, a weekly weather forecast, moon phase, and recent session-quality metrics
The dashboard: project and exposure totals, the week's forecast, moon phase and the quality of recent sessions. Full-size image

Works without NINA. Import FITS collections from AsiAir, KStars / Ekos, Voyager, NINA and other capture software.

What's new

Latest updates

All updates

Two ways in

Import your archive or connect NINA

You don't need to change your capture software, or wait for another session to get something useful out of DeepSkyLog.

The collection you already have

Import your FITS collection

Batch-import metadata from your existing folders with the free DeepSkyLog Uploader or the command-line importer. Years of captures end up in one place, whatever software you used.

  • CLI downloads for Windows, Linux and macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon).
  • The free DeepSkyLog Uploader for Windows, macOS and Linux if you prefer working in a window.
  • See which targets and filters still need time, with equipment and location attached.
Choose an importer

New captures as they happen

Connect your NINA sessions

Use the NINA plugin to send frame metadata automatically during a sequence. Project totals stay up to date without a separate import.

  • Add new captures to your imaging record as they arrive.
  • Follow available guiding, focusing, and equipment telemetry.
  • Check on the rig from the sofa, or review the session the next morning.
Set up the NINA plugin

Already have a NINA archive? Use either importer for your older FITS files, too.

Before you start: web imports and the DeepSkyLog Uploader are free; CLI imports and NINA integration are paid. Compare plans.

Plan, capture, review

What it helps with

What does this target still need?

Compare the exposure per night and per filter with your goals. For a mosaic, look at each panel. For a shared project, check what the others have already added before you collect more.

Projects and filter goals

What happened during that session?

Look at the frame metrics from that night. If star size or guiding changed, you see where, and you know which frames to check before processing.

Reading the session dashboard
A project's details showing total integration and filter breakdown, with planning windows and moon phase at the bottom
A project's integration total and filter breakdown above its planning windows and the moon phase for the season. Full-size image

An example from the application

A mosaic with uneven panels

The M 45 mosaic below covers the whole target, but the panels have very different exposure totals, so you can see which one to image next.

M 45 mosaic in the sky map with four panel outlines and their exposure totals, from 7 hours 24 minutes to 11 hours 6 minutes
M 45 in the sky map, with the exposure of each panel on the right. Open the image to see the panels in detail.

Which panel needs more time?

M 45 Panel 1
8 h 45 m
M 45 Panel 2
11 h 06 m
M 45 Panel 3
7 h 24 m
M 45 Panel 4
11 h 06 m

If you want similar depth in every panel, Panel 3 is the first one to look at, with just over 7 hours. Check its filter totals and frame quality, then use the target's imaging window and your forecast to plan the next sequence.

Working with mosaics

Where it fits

How it compares to other tools

Telescopius helps you pick a target and frame it. AstroBin is where the finished image goes. In between are months of nights on the same target, and that is the part DeepSkyLog keeps track of - how much you have per filter and per mosaic panel, and what is still missing.

It reads all of that from your FITS files and from NINA, so there is no spreadsheet to keep up. It also shows when your targets are up and what the weather does at your locations, and you can share a project with friends imaging the same target.

Telescopius
Finding targets, framing them and working out when to shoot.
DeepSkyLog
Keeping track of what you have captured on each target, and what it still needs.
AstroBin
Showing finished images, with the equipment and acquisition details behind them.

Roughly - each of them does more than this.

You can use all three - they do not replace each other.

Getting started

First steps

  1. Import one night

    Choose files from one equipment setup and location. Check the target names and filters before importing the wider collection.

  2. Give a project a goal

    Pick an unfinished target and set the integration time you want for each filter. Now the totals show how far you are.

  3. Plan the next night

    Compare what is missing with target visibility and your forecast. After capturing, check the new data and plan the next session from the updated totals.

Walk through your first project

The person behind it

I’m Karol, the developer of DeepSkyLog. I am an amateur astrophotographer, or more like an astro-hoarder, as I capture more than I process :-) This is why I created DeepSkyLog - previously known as astrohoarder.space - to track what I have captured so far.

I’m a real person, you can see my collection of astro-images on astrohoarder.space.

If a part of your imaging workflow doesn’t fit, or an import doesn’t make sense, I’d like to hear about it.

Tell me which capture software you use and how you decide what to capture next, or simply if something just does not work. A concrete example of what gets in the way helps me understand what needs to change.

Write me a note

or email contact@deepskylog.space

Support me on Ko-fi

Common questions

Can I plan my imaging in DeepSkyLog?
Yes. Plan Ahead shows target imaging windows and the weather forecast for each of your locations, and ranks your unfinished projects for the night. Filter goals and mosaic coverage show what is still missing. Read about project planning.
Do I need NINA?
No. You can import an existing FITS collection with the DeepSkyLog Uploader or the CLI, whatever software wrote the files: AsiAir, KStars / Ekos, Voyager and others. It reads the FITS headers, so there is no special integration for each program. Choose an importer.
Are my original images uploaded?
No. Only metadata is sent. The FITS files stay on your storage, so keep your own backups.
Can I try it before importing everything?
Yes. Try the demo, or create an account and import one night. The free trial has every feature, within its limits on frames and projects. Web imports and the DeepSkyLog Uploader are free. The CLI and NINA uploads need a paid plan or the trial. See pricing and limits.
More questions and answers