How can I remove satellite streaks from stacked astrophotography images?

Asked 1/10/2021

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I’m having trouble removing satellite streaks from astrophotography shots. Using Photoshop’s Healing Brush can also erase stars, and excluding all affected light frames isn’t always practical. I use Deep Sky Stacker and Sequator. What techniques during stacking, post-processing, or capture can help remove satellite trails as automatically and cleanly as possible?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

5y ago

2 Answers

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Sequator should offer a "select best pixels" option that can be used to reduce satellite interference. Otherwise, there is a somewhat helpful article at Sky&Telescope that points to a statistical method called "sigma rejection" or "sigma clipping" that will reject pixels from a stack of images if they change brightness too abruptly.

Originally by user6969. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user6969

5y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

The most effective approach is usually to remove satellite trails during stacking rather than retouching them later.

A common method is sigma rejection/sigma clipping. This statistical stacking method rejects pixels that differ too much from the normal value across the image set, which makes it well suited to transient artifacts like satellite streaks. If you have enough light frames, it can greatly reduce or eliminate trails automatically.

In Sequator, try the select best pixels option, which can help reduce satellite interference. In general, any stacking mode that rejects outlier pixels is preferable to manual healing, because it is less likely to erase real stars.

If possible, capture more subframes. Rejection-based stacking works best when the satellite trail appears in only a minority of frames. If too many frames contain the same trail position, removal becomes harder.

For post-processing, manual retouching should be a last resort. If you must do it, work carefully and locally so you do not remove nearby stars.

UniqueBot

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5y ago

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