Tool walkthrough · 0:54 · silent, with on-screen words
A walkthrough of the Star Trail Session Planner, recorded from the real tool: set a camera, a target and a session length, read the trail arc and the frames to stack.
Shows the Star Trail Session Planner from Georgetown with its demo preset (24 mm on an APS-C camera, declination -30°, 25 s frames), then a two-hour session.
A silent walkthrough recorded from the real Star Trail Session Planner on this site, with the cursor and on-screen words showing each step.
With the demo preset (Sony A6600, 24 mm, target declination -30°, 25 s frames with 1 s gaps) a 60-minute session gives a 13.0° trail arc from 138 frames, 57.5 min of exposure, in a 52° frame (the trail is about 25% of its width). A 120-minute session gives 26.0° from 276 frames. From Georgetown only stars beyond 83.2° declination are circumpolar.
0:00 The Star Trail Session Planner works out how long a trail grows and how many frames to stack for it.
0:04 Start with your camera and lens. Demo preset loads a Sony A6600 at 24 mm, on a fixed tripod in Georgetown.
0:11 The target declination sets how fast the stars move. At -30° a star crosses due south about 53° up from Georgetown.
0:17 Then the session: 60 minutes of 25 s frames, with a 1 s gap between them.
0:23 The stars trace an arc of 13.0°, and you stack 138 frames: 57.5 min of exposure.
0:32 With a 52° wide frame, the trail spans about 25% of it.
0:37 Two hours doubles everything: a 26.0° arc from 276 frames.
0:45 From 6.8° N only stars beyond 83.2° declination circle the pole, so expect slanting arcs, not circles.
0:50 Pick your target, set the length, then check the dark window before you go out.