Astrotools
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Optics & framing

Field of ViewReducer & BarlowBack-focus SpacingPlate-solving ScaleMosaic Planning

Image quality

Resolution & SamplingSensor TiltDrizzle PlannerAutofocus Planning

Acquisition

Exposure & SNROptimal Sub-exposureIntegration PlannerFilter Exposure PlannerStar Saturation

Mount & guiding

Guiding RatioPolar AlignmentGuiding ExposureField Rotation

Sky & environment

Imaging WindowAtmospheric ExtinctionDew & Heater

Session planning

Calibration FramesStorage Volume
About this calculation: inputs, formula and confidence

How much disk space will tonight require?

Convert sensor format and cadence into a session data budget.

Planning estimate

Formula

V = width × height × bits × frames

Per-frame pixel payload accumulates across lights and calibration frames.

Where to find the inputs

  • Image dimensionsEquipment profile
  • Bit depthCapture format
  • Exposure cadenceSession plan
  • Session lengthSession plan
  • Calibration countSession plan

Related

Calibration Frames →Drizzle Planner →Integration Planner →

Storage & Data Volume

Know how much data the night will produce.

Turn camera resolution, capture format, cadence and calibration plan into frame size, session volume and sustained write rate.

Purpose and method

What this calculator does

How much disk space will tonight require? Convert sensor format and cadence into a session data budget.

In words: Per-frame pixel payload accumulates across lights and calibration frames.

The saved camera supplies native resolution. File format, channel count, cadence, session duration and calibration count remain capture-plan choices.

Working geometry

Capture data flow

Pixel dimensions and bit depth determine each frame before frames accumulate into a session total.

pixels × bitsframessession GiB

Inputs

Capture plan

Unit: px
Unit: px
Unit: bit
Unit: channels
Unit: s
Unit: h
Unit: frames
Unit: %

Calculated now

Data budget

Per frame
52.25 MiB
Light frames
120
Total frames
180
Total storage
9.19 GiB
Light data
6.12 GiB
Average write rate
0.435 MiB/s

Equation

Frame byte size
Vframe=W⁢H⁢b8⁢C⁢(1+o)

Actual FITS/XISF compression, metadata, previews, temporary files, rejected subs, live stacking, drizzle and backups can change the requirement. Keep working space and a separate backup allowance beyond this capture estimate.