---
title: Mosaic Planning
description: "Large targets get mosaics: multiple overlapping panels, each imaged like a target of its own. Astro PM plans panels, tracks per-panel progress, and schedules them intelligently so a mosaic finishes as a coherent whole. ### Creating a Mosaic Frame the…"
url: "https://astro-pm.com/docs/mosaic-planning/"
updated: "2026-07-12"
category: Astro PM App Guide / Projects
---

# Mosaic Planning

Large targets get mosaics: multiple overlapping panels, each imaged like a target of its own. Astro PM plans panels, tracks per-panel progress, and schedules them intelligently so a mosaic finishes as a coherent whole.

### Creating a Mosaic

Frame the target in [Sky View](/docs/sky-view-framing/) and set the panel grid and overlap percentage. Astro PM computes each panel’s center coordinates and rotation from your imaging system’s field of view. Every panel inherits the project’s exposure plan.

[![](https://astro-pm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-12-121611.png)](https://astro-pm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-12-121611.png)

### The Mosaic Editor

[![](https://astro-pm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-12-130637.png)](https://astro-pm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-12-130637.png)

For full manual control, open the **Edit Mosaic** popup: add panels, edit a panel’s coordinates or rotation, reorder, or delete. Panel progress is preserved through edits – reordering panels never mixes up which subs belong to which panel.

### How Panels Are Scheduled

Each panel is a schedulable unit with its own remaining work. With **Prefer finishing mosaic panels** enabled (Step 1 of the simulator), the scheduler leans toward completing a panel before hopping to the next, and under Manual Priority panels run in explicit P1 → P2 order. Panel progress shows individually, so you always know which panels still need time.