Dark Frames and Stacking

The random noise of the dark frame is calculated and removed by the computer sensors.

Sensors heat up when taking long exposures, creating hot pixels. It’s called thermal noise. Stacking software thinks the pixel is part of the photo.

So take dark frames. They are images of the hot noise. The computer will use them and adjust things.

Put the lens cap on, keep the camera settings identical, and take the photos immediately. They are temperature sensitive. How many light frames did you take? Take at least half that many dark frames. 3 to 4 no matter what. Put these dark photos in a separate folder, then combine all the images into the stacking software for processing.

Try it. Also try using Sequator for stacking images in Windows, or Starry Night in Mac. Or just stay with Photoshop and Camera Raw and the stacking you’ve always done.