HOW TO TAKE IMAGES OF THE NIGHT SKY WITH YOUR PHONE

FROM STAR TRAILS TO MOON CLOSE-UPS, SMARTPHONE ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY IS GETTING EASIER. ON YOUR COMPUTER, ON AN EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE OR THE CLOUD.

Smartphone astrophotography is not going to match those images from the Hubble Space Telescope, or from a DSLR camera attached to a telescope on an equatorial mount, which follows stars as they appear to move. However, what you can capture with your phone — from close-ups of planets and the craters and mountain range of the Moon to timelapses and star-trails — will astound you. Here are a few tips to get you started.

Get out of the city: Ambient light will affect what you can see in the night sky. So head into the bush and you’ll likely see more stars, meteors and a brighter Moon.

Use a tripod: This is an essential element in low-light photography. Given you will need higher shutter speeds, this will reduce camera shake and eliminate blurry images.

Find the best app: Shutter speed isn’t something you can control on a camera phone, so you’ll need to get a third-party app to simulate the effect. There are many options for both iOS and Android, like NightCap Camera ( www.nightcapcamera.com) for the former and Camera FV-5 ( www.camerafv5.com) for Android.

Steer clear of flash: You don’t need to use the flash just because it’s dark. The lower shutter speed will allow enough light to enter the lens so you get stark silhouettes against any natural lighting in the sky, or allow city lighting to shine through well against twilight. In fact, a flash will just drown out the scene and you’ll end up with no discernible subjects in your photo.

Avoid using digital zoom: Trying to zoom into a subject at night will seem fine on the screen of your phone, but the resulting image, however, will end up looking extremely noisy and grainy.