These are the best tilt-shift lenses for astrophotography when you want dead-straight horizons, giant high-res nightscapes, disciplined coma/astigmatism, and precise foreground alignment for Milky Way panos, tracked mosaics, blue-hour blends, and moon/planet composites—without relying only on “fix it in post”—and here’s what to look for as you buy: prioritize large, well-corrected image circles that stay sharp when shifted, low sagittal coma and lateral CA, independent tilt/shift axis rotation (so you can keep tilt at zero for stars while shifting for panos), hard locks that don’t creep mid-exposure, repeatable marks for exact rise amounts between frames, and smooth long-throw manual focus with an accurate infinity; note that most TS lenses are ƒ3.5–ƒ4, so plan on stacking or a star tracker to compensate for speed, and keep tilt at or near zero for sky shots to avoid dephasing the star plane. Full-frame standouts for nightscapes and stitched shifts: Canon TS-E 17mm ƒ4L (huge image circle—dramatic vertical rise for arch/foreground-with-sky scenes), TS-E 24mm ƒ3.5L II (architecture-level sharpness and the astro workhorse for 2–5 frame sky/foreground mosaics), and TS-E 50mm ƒ2.8L Macro (flat-field, superb for tele Milky Way panels or moonlit detail panos); Nikon PC 19mm ƒ4E ED (razor-wide with independent axis rotation) and PC-E 24mm/45mm/85mm for foreground-focused blends; mirrorless shift-only heroes with massive image circles: Laowa 15mm ƒ4.5 Zero-D Shift (ultra-low distortion for clean star grids) and Laowa 20mm ƒ4 Shift (balanced corners and manageable vignetting)—both excellent for multi-row sky/land stitches; for tracked lunar/planet mosaics and star fields, the TS-E 90mm ƒ2.8L Macro and TS-E 135mm ƒ4L Macro let you “shift-scan” the subject at higher focal lengths with consistent framing. APS-C and Micro Four Thirds routes: adapt the above TS/PC lenses (their big image circles give generous shift room on smaller sensors) or use a compact view system like Cambo Actus with native primes if you’re dedicated to tilt/shift at scale; for shift-only economy, pair Laowa 15/20 Shift on APS-C for parallax-minimized night panos. Practical buyer tips: build around a 24mm-class TS for most Milky Way landscapes, add a 17/19mm when you often need dramatic rise under arches or in tight canyons, and a 50/90/135 TS for tele “constellation wall” or moonlit terrain mosaics; prefer lenses with independent axis rotation so you can shift vertically while keeping tilt zeroed, and standardize plates/rails with a nodal slide to maintain entrance-pupil alignment across shifted frames; remember shift panos reduce parallax versus swivel panos—crucial when foreground objects are near. Astro tilt-shift shooting tips: mount solidly, turn IS/IBIS off on locked shots, start with tilt at zero for the sky and use shift to compose multi-frame panos (up/center/down or left/center/right) with identical exposure/WB, work near wide open then stop 1/3–1 stop to tighten corners, use live-view magnification to set precise infinity and tape the ring, follow the NPF rule for untracked frames or use a tracker for 60–180s subs at base ISO (park the tracker between shifted frames so stars don’t shear), stack numerous short exposures (dither between sets) and capture darks/flats, blend blue-hour foregrounds with tracked skies for clean detail, flag the front element to kill veiling flare from oblique lights, and carry a slim dew heater—shifted corners are unforgiving to haze; whether you’re stitching an enormous arch-to-Milky-Way mosaic, drafting pin-straight horizons across dunes, or scanning the Moon at tele focal lengths, the best tilt-shift lenses combine big image circles, low distortion, and precise mechanics—so stars stay tight, lines stay true, and your nightscapes scale beautifully without geometric compromise.