Starry Landscape Stacker is a popular, Mac only, program that allows you to stack landscape images that include a starry night sky to reduce noise and enhance detail. It has been my personal choice of stacking software for some time now. Let’s check out what is new with version 1.7!

There are two significant updates in Starry Landscape Stacker version 1.7. The first update being with the sky mask itself. You now have the option to have a sky mask with islands of the sky or one without. An “island of sky” might consist of those pesky gaps of stars between tree branches or holes between bridges or other foreground objects that have gaps allowing stars to shine through.

Starry Landscape Stackers definition of "islands."
Starry Landscape Stackers definition of “islands.”

Changes to the Stacking Algorithm

The second biggest change comes with the stacking algorithm itself. You now have six options: Min Horizon Noise, Min Horizon Star Duplication, Mean Min Horizon Noise, Mean Min Horizon Star Duplication, Max Value, and Min Value.

The star duplication (dupe) feature is another useful feature. It helps maintain pinpoint stars in challenging areas, such as between tree branches, where standard attempts might produce a star trail. The Min Horizon Noise option is best in most situations. You can always save more than one version and blend them later in photoshop or similar post-processing software.

The six new stacking algorithms in Starry Landscape Stacker
The six new stacking algorithms in Starry Landscape Stacker

I tested it with some of my images that contained trees, and the final result was pretty good. Not perfect, but still a good improvement! If you use Starry Landscape Stacker, let us know your thoughts on the newest update. Also, what features would you like to see in the future?

YouTube Demo

Watch the full video on YouTube to see the developer demonstrate the new masking and stacking options.


Starry Sky Stacker

Check out our article on Starry Sky Stacker: Noise-Free Star Photos – a Starry Sky Stacker Review.

Dean Vinson