Smartphone astrophotography gadgets are a great way to turn the phone in your pocket into a device capable of photographing the night sky.
Your smartphone camera can do a lot more than you might think, and we’ve picked out some of the best gadgets to help you get the most out of your new hobby of astrophotography.
The following astronomy gadgets for smartphones will help you capture the broad phenomenon that is night sky photography.
From sunrises and sunsets to the moon, planetary conjunctions, constellations and star trails.
You can capture the International Space Station, the Aurora Borealis, and even the Milky Way streaking across the sky.
For more advice, read our guide to smartphone astrophotography and stargazing apps, or find out how to photograph the moon with your smartphone camera.
Smartphone astrophotography gadgets are great, but for more high-end imaging equipment, check out the best cameras for astrophotography.
Or, if you’re looking for a gift for an astronomer or space fan, read our guide to the best space gifts.
For more advice on astrophotography, check out our recommendations for the best telescopes for astrophotography.
Gadgets for smartphone astrophotography
Smartphone tripod
One of the simplest, yet perhaps most effective, smartphone astronomy gadgets is a smartphone tripod.
Taking photos of the night sky requires long exposures and therefore stability, so you first need a tripod and then a bracket to hold your smartphone.
I’ve chosen a tripod that’s relatively small and easy to carry (if portability isn’t a concern, just buy a DSLR!), but the most important part is undoubtedly the bracket.
Joby GripTight ONE GP Stand
This flexible smartphone tripod deserves to be the first on our gadget list: it has an adjustable grip that fits most smartphones, and its rubber feet are designed to hold securely on smooth surfaces, so your setup won’t slip and ruin your long exposure images or timelapses.
In most cases, you’ll need to mount your tripod on a flat surface, but the Joby GripTight can be wrapped around a railing or tree, potentially giving you that extra height without having to bring a bulky tripod with you on your photography trips.
Manfrotto PIXI Universal Smartphone Clamp
If you’re looking for an all-in-one tripod that requires a hard surface to mount but is small and portable, the PIXI Mini is the perfect choice. Extremely sturdy and compact, this tripod features a ball head for mounting compact cameras and DSLRs, and secures with a simple push-button locking mechanism. This version comes with a smartphone clamp that will hold any phone in any phone case.
ZETONG Mobile Phone Tripod
ZETONG’s phone tripod is perfect for beginners. It’s lightweight, easy to set up, and has a great smartphone clamp that adjusts left/right and up/down. It has Bluetooth handheld shutter control so you can shoot without accidentally moving your phone.
Benro 3XS Lite Smartphone Gimbal
If you want something really premium to support your smartphone, this is one to consider. It’s a 3-axis smartphone gimbal designed for amateur filmmakers. However, not only can you zoom using the buttons on the column and take photos manually using the app, but it also has 1/4-inch tripod threads all over so you can mount it on a full-size tripod.
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Astrophotography App
A good smartphone astrophotography gadget doesn’t have to be the latest hardware — it can also be a great app that helps you control your smartphone’s camera.
Depending on your phone model, your phone may or may not have a sensor sensitive enough to capture high-quality long exposure images of the night sky.
Below are just a few of the long exposure apps available that give you full manual control, some with special astronomical modes:
Camera for iOS+2
The latest version of the most well-known and loved manual mobile phone camera app, Camera+ 2 lets you set the shutter speed, ISO, white balance, has a slow shutter mode for exposures up to 30 seconds, and also lets you capture in RAW format for post-processing.
More info: photon.cam
Camera for Android FV-5
If you have an older Android phone, consider the Camera FV-5. This camera gives you full manual control over your phone’s camera with a DSLR-like viewfinder. This includes exposure bracketing and a built-in intervalometer, as well as manual exposure times up to 30 seconds, ISO, and white balance. Photos are recorded in a RAW format called DNG.
More info: www.camerafv5.com
NightCap Camera for iPhone and iPad
Well-thought-out as a great app for low-light and nighttime photography, NightCap Camera is one of the few apps focused specifically on astrophotography. It has presets for stars, meteors, the International Space Station, and even star trail modes. In addition to on-phone manual controls (and an ISO booster), it has built-in noise reduction and an intervalometer for timelapses of the night sky, all of which can be recorded as TIFF files for post-processing.
More info: www.nightcapcamera.com/nightcap-camera
Smartphone zoom lenses
Once ubiquitous, smartphone zoom lenses are on the decline as flagship smartphones now come equipped with ample digital zoom capabilities.
However, there are some tripods and smartphone brackets that, when used in conjunction with one another, can take some amazing images of the moon.
A good smartphone zoom lens might be one of the smartphone astrophotography gadgets that will give you the most immediate results.
CamKix Lens Kit
This entry-level kit includes an 8x zoom telephoto lens with manual focus ring (among other things), perfect for photographing the moon. It also comes with a small tripod, a phone bracket, and a case to mount the zoom lens on – but only for certain phone models. Great for beginners.
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Oribon 8-24×40 Zoom Monocular
If you want to get a little more serious about photographing the moon but don’t want to bulk up your telescope equipment, consider a Digiscope. With a magnification range of 8x to 24x, this monocular can be used with any of the telescope eyepiece adapters listed below.
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Sony DSC-QX10 Smart Lens
An unusual option is this standalone 10x 28-100mm zoom lens. It features Zeiss optics and can be attached to the phone via a cable or used separately and connect over WiFi. It has an 18.2-megapixel sensor.
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Xenvo Pro Lens Kit
The Xenvo Pro is a lens for iPhone and Android that clips onto your device, has rubber pads to prevent scratches during use, can capture macro and wide-angle images, and comes with a quick-release strap for when the clouds suddenly part and you need to snap a shot quickly.
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Telescope Eyepiece Adapter
Many smartphone astrophotography gadgets allow you to go outside and start photographing the night sky, but if you have a telescope, these adapters are perfect for you.
Welcome to Digiscope! If you have a telescope, you’ll probably want to try taking pictures with your smartphone.
Plus, if you can stay still, it’s extremely effective.
Get a smartphone telescope adapter that will fit your eyepiece. Some also work with binoculars, but they’ll need to be mounted on a tripod.
Bresser Universal Smartphone Holder Deluxe
With a suction cup that holds your phone securely in place and adjustable height, this universal holder allows you to position your smartphone perfectly to take the best photo.
Visionary Universal Smartphone Camera Adapter
If you have a telescope, binoculars, digiscope, or other optical device, choose something versatile like this instrument that fits eyepieces with diameters between 26 and 51 mm.
Tele Vue FoneMate Smartphone Eyepiece Adapter
Here’s another handy way to take images with a telescope or digiscope. Perhaps you’ll be photographing the moon. Line up the phone bracket with the phone’s camera lens and secure it to the eyepiece of the telescope or digiscope. Note that there will be vignetting around the edges.
Celestron NexYZ 3-Axis Universal Smartphone Adapter
The first thing I noticed during my test run of the Celestron NexYZ was how well-built it was.
We also enjoyed the quick insertion and removal of the smartphone, a great option if a group of friends all want to shoot targets of their choice with their own smartphones.
The coolest feature of NexYZ is that it allows you to align your smartphone with the telescope’s eyepiece in three axes: X, Y, and Z. This gives you maximum control to ensure your smartphone camera is aligned with the optical axis of the telescope.
We used the NexYZ in conjunction with a Stargate 500 GoTo Dobsonian, an Equinox 80 ED refractor, and a 100mm spotting scope.
Using the NightCap app, I was able to capture a variety of targets, including the moon and deep space objects, and I was very impressed.
Read the full Celestron NexYZ review
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Celestron Inspire 80AZ Refracting Telescope
How about a telescope with an integrated eyepiece adapter for your smartphone? This simple 3″/80mm refractor telescope comes attached to an alt-azimuth mount and is enough to get you started taking photos of the moon. Accessories are also available for mounting a DSLR camera.
Vaonis Stellina Smart Telescope
Buy from Adorama
Welcome to the first (and very expensive) WiFi-enabled cell phone scope that lets you create multiple, stacked 6-megapixel images of deep space objects with your phone. Designed by professional astronomers, the French-made Stellina delivers sharper images the longer you track an object, and the results are astounding. It can be controlled and used with your smartphone, and you don’t even need to be outside. Is this the ultimate astrophotography toy?
Read our full review of Stellina Observation Station.
If you’ve taken some amazing astronomical photos with your phone, we’d love to see them. Contact us on Facebook. twitteror email us. Take a photo and pray for clear skies.