How to photograph the ISS and other satellites
A satellite pass makes a striking photo: a bright streak across the stars. What you need, the camera settings that work, and how to do it with a phone.
What you will get
A satellite moves too fast to photograph as a dot without a telescope. Instead you leave the shutter open and let it draw a line of light across the stars. A bright ISS pass makes a long, even streak; a fainter satellite a thin one. It is one of the easiest astrophotos to take.
Plan the shot
- Check the pass time, the direction it appears and disappears, and the max height. High passes give the longest, brightest streaks.
- Pick a spot with the right part of the sky open; a building or tree in the foreground adds scale.
- Be set up five minutes early. The pass lasts only a few minutes.
Camera settings that work
With a camera that has manual mode, on a tripod:
- Focus manually on a bright star or a distant light, then leave focus alone.
- Wide lens, aperture wide open (f/2.8–f/4).
- Exposure 10 to 30 seconds, ISO 400–1600 depending on how bright the sky is.
- Use a remote, the self-timer or continuous shooting so you do not shake the camera; several frames in a row can be stacked into one long streak afterward.
With a phone
Recent phones can do it in night mode or a manual "pro" mode with a long exposure. Rest the phone on something solid or use a small tripod, set the longest exposure it allows, and start shooting as the satellite appears. Apps that take long-exposure or light-trail photos work too.
Common problems
- Blurry stars: focus was off or the tripod moved; refocus on a star and use the timer.
- No streak: the pass was outside the frame or the satellite was in Earth's shadow; check the direction and the visible part of the pass.
- Washed-out sky in town: shorten the exposure or lower the ISO.