Jan 31 2026: APP 2.0.0-beta40 will soon be released with many fixes especially for Linux, upgraded development platform and 10-20% performance boost !
Jan 15 2026: FIXED LICENSE SERVER VPN Tunnel issue
 The issue could have prevented APP to start when using a VPN tunnel or another complicated network configuration, like using APP on a remote computer on a different continent. This issue is fixed now and APP should start normally.
Jan 04 2026: 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. Unfortunately, Mabula was struck by a severe flu virus in the past couple of weeks and thus could not work. He is getting much better now and he has resumed work to release 2.0.0 as soon as possible. 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.
Nov 28 2025:Â APP 2.0.0-beta39 has been released !
Here's a couple of my latest processed images from my more recent trips to the local dark sky park (John Glenn Astronomy Park, in Hocking Hills, OH, edge of bortle 3/4). Granted its been a couple of years since I spent any meaningful time there and last few times I tried processing stuff I keep ending up with results that look worse than what I had before.
- (1 year ago) Andromeda with 13 hours total integration (I had 20 hours but let it cull 1/3)
- (2 years ago) North America and Pelican nebulas with a combined total of 7.5 hours
Both images are with my stock, unfiltered, Canon 90D, my 400mm telephoto lens at f6.3, ISO 1600, 5min subs. Mount was an EQM-35/GTi w/ MGEN3 autoguiding. Stacked/processed in APP, touched up in Luminar4.
Since I'm on a stock DSLR, my stars can't be as cleanly removed/reduced so they end up with some funk and I have to fiddle with the settings quite a bit to find something that is a reasonable compromise. Unfortunately, the settings usually end up image specific and don't translate well if I used the same settings on a different image, so its a lot of time spent tweaking sliders and seeing what happens.
Came out really nice is what I think, nice bright colors. It's fun to use a stock DSLR like you did. And regarding the brighter stars, a lot of what surrounds them possibly has to do with the build in diaphragm, was it wide open? And all is relative; the james webb telescope suffers from spikes around the bright stars too ;).
Here's a couple of my latest processed images from my more recent trips to the local dark sky park (John Glenn Astronomy Park, in Hocking Hills, OH, edge of bortle 3/4). Granted its been a couple of years since I spent any meaningful time there and last few times I tried processing stuff I keep ending up with results that look worse than what I had before.
- (1 year ago) Andromeda with 13 hours total integration (I had 20 hours but let it cull 1/3)
- (2 years ago) North America and Pelican nebulas with a combined total of 7.5 hours
Both images are with my stock, unfiltered, Canon 90D, my 400mm telephoto lens at f6.3, ISO 1600, 5min subs. Mount was an EQM-35/GTi w/ MGEN3 autoguiding. Stacked/processed in APP, touched up in Luminar4.
Since I'm on a stock DSLR, my stars can't be as cleanly removed/reduced so they end up with some funk and I have to fiddle with the settings quite a bit to find something that is a reasonable compromise. Unfortunately, the settings usually end up image specific and don't translate well if I used the same settings on a different image, so its a lot of time spent tweaking sliders and seeing what happens.
Great results Jeremy @nickoson-2, I like the colors and processing 🙂 !
