How to Use the Star Trail Planner
Plan exposure length and framing so trails look intentional from tropical latitudes.
What this tool answers
How long should I expose (or stack) to get a chosen trail arc, and how does latitude (~6°N) change trail geometry around the celestial poles?
When to use it (Guyana)
From Guyana you see both northern and southern sky. Polaris is low in the north; southern trails curve around a different pole. Plan before a humid night so you are not guessing ISO/shutter while lenses fog.
Step-by-step
- Open Star Trail Planner.
- Set latitude (GPS or ~6 for much of Guyana).
- Choose target trail length / session duration.
- Note suggested single-exposure vs stacking approach from the planner outputs.
- Align composition (north for tight circles near Polaris; east/west for longer streaks).
- Pack dew control; re-check weather and Moon.
How to read the results
- Angular motion: stars move ~15° per hour; trail length scales with time and distance from the pole.
- Latitude: changes where the poles sit in your frame.
- Session vs single shot: long singles vs many short frames for stacking.
Common mistakes
- Framing for Polaris-style circles while pointing south.
- Ignoring Moon wash on long sessions.
- No intervalometer / battery plan for multi-hour stacks.
Next
- Topic: Star Trails in the Tropics
- Coordinates refresher: Celestial Coordinates
- Tools: Dark Sky Window