🎬 How to Turn Star Trails into a Comet-Style Animation using StarStaX and DaVinci Resolve

1. Introduction

After capturing your star trails and stacking them using the comet mode in StarStaX, you can take things a step further and transform the evolving sky into a video animation. This gives the viewer the impression that the stars are gradually spinning and leaving longer and longer trails — a hypnotic way to visualize the passage of time and Earth's rotation.

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to:

  • Export progressive trail images using StarStaX.
  • Import them into DaVinci Resolve.
  • Assemble a smooth video where the trails grow with each frame.

Whether you’re a beginner in video editing or already familiar with timelines and exports, this guide will walk you through everything step by step.

2. Preparing Frames in StarStaX

Before we can animate our star trails, we need a sequence of images where each frame shows the trails slightly longer than the previous one. This can easily be done using StarStaX, which allows you to save the output after each step of the stacking process. The result is a progressive buildup of star trails—perfect for creating an animation.

Start by launching StarStaX and importing all your night sky photos. These should already be edited and exported from Lightroom or another RAW processor, ideally in JPG or TIFF format. The number of images you use will directly affect the smoothness and length of your final video.

Enable Comet Mode in StarStaX to give each trail a fading, tail-like appearance. This creates a much more dynamic look than solid lines.

Next, go to the preferences or blending options and make sure the setting “Save after each step” (or “Save intermediate images”) is turned on. This tells StarStaX to save one image every time it adds a new source photo to the stack.

The software will export a sequence of images like:

  • comet_0001.tif
  • comet_0002.tif
  • comet_0003.tif

This output forms the backbone of your animation.

Important: To create a smooth video, you need enough frames for your desired frame rate and length.
For example, for a 10-second video at 30 FPS, you’ll need at least 300 frames — meaning 300 input images and 300 StarStaX exports.

If you have fewer source images, you can still make a shorter video, lower the frame rate (e.g. 24 FPS), or skip frames to speed up the animation.

3. Editing the Animation in DaVinci Resolve

Once your frames are exported from StarStaX, it’s time to turn them into a video using DaVinci Resolve — a powerful, free video editor. This is where your star trails come to life as a smooth time-lapse animation.

Step-by-step:

  • Open DaVinci Resolve and create a new project.
  • In the Media tab, drag the entire folder containing your StarStaX frames into the Media Pool.
  • This will import the images as a single image sequence clip instead of hundreds of separate files.
  • Right-click the sequence in the Media Pool and choose "Create New Timeline Using Selected Clips".
  • Uncheck “Use project settings” and manually set your desired frame rate (e.g., 30 FPS).
  • Click Create to generate your timeline.
  • Go to the Edit tab to review or enhance the animation.

Export:

  • Switch to the Deliver tab.
  • Choose format (MP4 or MOV), resolution (Full HD or 4K), and frame rate.
  • Name your file, set output folder, then click “Add to Render Queue”.
  • Click “Render All” to export your star trail animation.
Tip: Using image sequences gives you full control and smooth playback. You can also apply color grading or fade-ins/outs for a professional look.

Feel free to experiment, combine foregrounds, play with color grading, or add soundtracks to elevate your final piece. Animated star trails aren’t just technical — they’re expressive, poetic, and endlessly creative.

Whether you prefer clean circular lines or the soft taper of comet-mode trails, your video becomes a reflection of the night’s rhythm and your own perspective beneath the stars.

If you’ve followed this tutorial and created your own star trail animation — I’d love to see it! Share your results on Instagram or YouTube using the hashtag:

👉 #simplyonphotography

Let the stars move — and let your creativity follow.

#simplyonphotography