Telescope Data Sort

Telescope Data Sort helps you turn messy telescope download folders into a clean library. It works with smart telescopes and with data from any other telescope or camera, including classic setups, when the files are organized as described below.

Copy your sessions from the telescope to a Captures folder on your Mac (USB, FTP, or Wi-Fi). Choose that folder and the app recognizes the folder layout for you. Pick the file types to sort, review every move, and Sort. Files land in Targets {year}/{object} so multi-night captures of the same object stay together.

Smart-telescope folder layouts (detected automatically) • Dated sessions from Vespera and Stellina telescopes • Object albums from S30, S30 Pro, and S50 telescopes • Session folders from DWARF 3, II, and mini telescopes • Object-and-date folders from Origin Mark II telescopes

Using data from other telescopes Images from any other telescope or camera, including a classic telescope with an astronomy camera or DSLR, sort the same way when: • The files are TIFF or FITS (JPG optional). They are copied unchanged; nothing is converted. • They sit in a folder named for the object, such as M31 or NGC 7000. Folders with no object name are listed so you can name them. • The year comes from a dated folder name such as 2026-10-07, or else from the file date. • Frames left inside Light, Dark, Flat, Bias, or Master folders are set aside, not sorted. Example: Captures/2026-10-07/M31/frame_0001.fits goes to Targets 2026/M31.

Telescope names identify folder layouts only. Telescope Data Sort is an independent app. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or created by those manufacturers.

What the app does • Detects smart-telescope folder layouts in your Captures folder • Sorts TIFF, FITS, and JPG — choose any combination • Previews every file and where it goes before anything changes • Copies files into Targets {year}/{object}, checks each copy byte for byte, and asks twice before deleting the originals • Never overwrites a file in your library; only byte-identical copies count as duplicates • Moves plate solves next to their object's images • Finds identical copies already in your library and keeps one of each • Optional named backup first, as a zip or tarball, with a progress bar and Cancel • Asks Yes or No before deleting finished session folders, and offers to sort file types you skipped • Never deletes a folder that still holds files it doesn't recognize • Sends removed files and folders to the Trash where the drive supports it • Runs natively on Apple silicon and Intel Macs with macOS 15 or newer

What the app does not do • It does not connect to or control your telescope • It does not stack or process images • It does not convert files, and it does not sort camera RAW or video files • It does not use Apple Photos as a library source

Free and open source Telescope Data Sort is free, and its source code is on GitHub. If you change it and share it, please credit BigSkyAstro with our logo and a link to bigskyastro.com.

Built by BigSkyAstro.

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