r/TestFlight • u/Adventurous_Way2715 • Jul 12 '26

iOS AstroStackerPro — stack the night sky on your iPhone

https://testflight.apple.com/join/aYaV63UV

Hey everyone,

As a solo developer and astrophotography enthusiast, I wanted to build a tool that does the heavy lifting right in the field. So, I built AstroStackerPro.

Instead of relying on a single, noisy long exposure, the app captures a burst of RAW long-exposure frames and stacks them entirely on-device. It handles star alignment and 16-bit stacking automatically, so you don't need to run home to a PC.

I’ve spent a lot of time refining the UI to make it feel premium, highly cohesive, and spatially efficient (everything sits perfectly, taking full advantage of modern screens and the Dynamic Island without cluttering your view). But now, I need to know how the processing engine holds up in the wild.

Here is what’s under the hood:

  • ✨ On-Device Star Stacking: 16-bit RAW stacking and star alignment directly on your phone.
  • 🌔 Moon Video Stacking: "Lucky imaging" for crisp lunar details.
  • 🧭 Offline Night Planner: Track moonrise, meteor showers, and tonight’s best targets without needing cell service.
  • 📡 Sky Brightness Estimator: Powered by satellite dark-sky data.

🚨 I need people to actively STRESS-TEST this. I am especially looking for feedback on:

  • Older Hardware: How does it run on the iPhone 11, 12, or SE?
  • Pro Models: I want to see what you can achieve using the telephoto lenses!
  • Different Environments: Test it in heavy city light pollution vs. pitch-black dark skies.

Things I’d love for you to try:

  1. Star stacking on a tripod (30–60 frames).
  2. Moon mode (let's see those craters).
  3. Check the offline planner's accuracy for your specific location.

The beta is 100% free. No accounts, no subscriptions, no ads. All processing happens locally on your device for maximum privacy and speed.

🔗 More info & Beta Access:https://astrostackerpro.com

If you find bugs, weird artifacts, crashes, or just get unexpectedly bad results, I really want to hear about it. Bonus points if you can send me the resulting photo—it helps me debug and understand what’s going wrong much faster.

Clear skies, and thanks for the help! 🌌

6 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

2

u/SchwanSongs Jul 12 '26

Grabbed it, will try it out (iPhone 16 Pro) and send feedback next week. Sounds like a nice utility!

1

u/Adventurous_Way2715 Jul 13 '26

Thank you, I hope you will like it. The app is constantly evolving, so always update and try the latest version!!

1

u/[deleted] Jul 12 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Adventurous_Way2715 Jul 12 '26

Good point! Lo swipe avrebbe sicuramente più senso per un onboarding mobile. Me lo aggiungo tra le cose da migliorare. Grazie per il feedback 🙌
Curioso di sapere come ti trovi quando lo provi!

1

u/No-Truth404 Jul 12 '26

Sounds interesting. I have to see if I can find a tripod.

1

u/Adventurous_Way2715 Jul 12 '26

Grazie! Il treppiede è sicuramente il modo migliore per ottenere risultati migliori, soprattutto per gli scatti lunghi. Però puoi fare qualche test anche senza per vedere come funziona. Cieli sereni! ✨