A project to remove stray satellite light trails from Long-Exposure Astrophotography

In 2024, with a plethora of low Earth orbit satellites (i.e. the ever-growing Starlink fleet) it is evident that the night sky is not nearly as clear as it used to be.

For both amateur and professional photographers looking to capture an awesome shot of the stars, the light pollution and mess of these satellites make astrophotography much more difficult, especially when attempting to capture timelapses and long-exposures. The frustrating outcome is that long exposure shots will end up with streaky lines and grids of satellite paths, instead of the sky by itself.

To combat this, the project aims to determine the intended path of the moving night sky throughout a longer exposure, and then to dim or remove entirely the streaks caused by these satellites.

This project was inspired by the following video: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7hBmmDS9Zp/?igsh=NmM4bnl5dXQ4MXds