About this tool
Stellavita's imaging planner calculates and shows "total exposure time" from your frame count and exposure length. Even where there's a field to enter an end time manually, that's a hard-stop setting — it force-ends the sequence at a fixed clock time, rather than calculating the real finish time from what you've actually scheduled.
Adding total exposure time to your start time isn't enough, because time that isn't exposure itself — dither/download intervals, filter changes, and autofocus — keeps stacking up. Autofocus in particular can easily take 60–180 seconds per run depending on your gear and filters, and over a long session that adds up to a difference you can't ignore.
Stellavita's End Time Simulator is a free tool that adds up your imaging tasks and autofocus settings to calculate the real finish time. The story behind why it was built is in this blog post (Japanese).
How to use it
- Enter the time you plan to start imaging in "Start Time" (the "Now" button sets it to the current time)
- In "Imaging Tasks," enter the same type, filter, frame count, exposure time, and interval you have set in your imaging planner. Add another task for each filter change
- If you use autofocus, enable "Autofocus Settings" and set the duration per run along with your trigger conditions (time, filter change, frame count)
- The "Estimated End Time" panel on the right shows the real finish time — interruptions included — along with a breakdown for each task
FAQ
Why doesn't my imaging planner tell me the end time?
Stellavita's imaging planner shows total exposure time (frame count × exposure length), but it usually doesn't factor in the time spent on dithering, downloads, or autofocus during the session. Some planners let you set an end time manually, but that field just force-stops the sequence at a fixed clock time — it isn't calculated from what you've actually scheduled. Stellavita adds all of that up to give you the real finish time.
What is the interval field?
It's the wait time between the end of one exposure and the start of the next — things like download time or dithering. Use the same value your capture software has configured for this setting.
How long does one autofocus run usually take?
It depends on your gear and filters, but V-curve style autofocus routines commonly take somewhere around 60–180 seconds. Narrowband filters need longer sub-exposures during the routine, which stretches this further. Since every setup is different, the most accurate number comes from timing a real autofocus run on your own equipment and entering that.
What happens if the session runs past midnight?
The date is shown under the end time, with a note if it's different from the start date.
Is it free? Do I need an account?
It's completely free and requires no sign-up. Everything is calculated in your browser — nothing you enter is sent to a server.