MAY 4 2026: APP 2.0.0-beta44 has been released !
New improved internal memory controls should now work on all computers
May 1 2026: APP 2.0.0-beta43 has been released !
Improved internal memory controls (much more stable and faster on big datasets), fixed CPU image viewer, fixed Narrowband extraction demosaic algortihms.
Apr 29 2026 APP 2.0.0-beta42 has been released !
New improved Normalization engine, Fixed random crashes in integration, fixed RGB Combine & Calibrate Star Colors, fixed Narrowband extraction algorithms, new development platform with performance gains, bug fixes in the tools, etc...
Apr 14 2026: Google Pay, Apple Pay & WeChat Pay added as payment options
Update on the 2.0.0 release & the full manual
We are getting close to the 2.0.0 stable release and the full manual. The manual will soon become available on the website and also in PDF format. Both versions will be identical and once released, will start to follow the APP release cycle and thus will stay up-to-date to the latest APP version.
Once 2.0.0 is released, the price for APP will increase. Owner's license holders will not need to pay an upgrade fee to use 2.0.0, neither do Renter's license holders.
Here's what I did this winter season. This is a wide field view of Orion's belt and sword region captured in a single framing. The view includes the Flame nebula (NGC2024), Horsehead nebula (IC434), Running Man nebula (NGC1975), and Great Nebula of Orion (M42). All processing was done with APP 2.0.0-beta13. Data was captured in December 2022, January and February 2023 from a Bortle 6 zone pointed towards a Bortle 7 zone.
Telescope: RedCat71, Camera (monochrome): ZWO ASI6200MM.
Total Integration Time: 25.4 hrs; Blue Filter: 6.5 hrs; Green Filter: 4.0 hrs; Red Filter: 3.0 hrs; Ha Filter (7nm): 2.0 hrs; OIII filter (7nm): 6.3 hrs; SII Filter (7nm): 3.6 hrs. Ha mapped as luminance, OIII mapped 2/3 blue and 1/3 green, SII mapped red. RGB and OIII filters were used when the moon was below the horizon, Ha and SII used with half moon or less above the horizon.
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Very nice, thanks for sharing! Maybe you can get a bit more dust from the background with a less dark sky?
I really like how the area around horsehead nebula comes out. Nice!
Vincent - I had those exact thoughts, but I was less satisfied with the overall results for the main subjects. Probably my developing skills need improving. In any case, what I want is a sky much with less light pollution to improve the contrast between the background and clouds of dust. I am about 2 years from retirement, and a few months ago I scouted several desert sites in the Western US which are Bortle 1 and 2. My plan is to rent a storage space for my scope and mount, then occasionally fly out, rent a car, and accomplish in a week with even better results what takes 3 months at my east coast location. I intend to come back to this subject under better skies.
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ah - thank you!
