2026-10-09 APP 2.0.0-beta48 has been released !
This is mainly a bug fix release for the reported bugs in beta47. In addition it has a significant User Interface performance improvement noticable when you need to process 1000s of images in APP.
2026-10-03 APP 2.0.0-beta47 has been released !
This is a very big release... many code optimizations/rewrites, many parts of APP are much faster and more precise, especially star analysis and registration are much faster ! Big mosaics will go much faster 🙂
And we introduce a new preview filter, which includes the new Adaptive Deep Sky Stretch and a General Levels Stretch, this has been long over due. The old preview filter (the panel on the right side to stretch and preview your data) has not been updated for a couple of years and it is a critical part of any APP session.
Adaptive Deep Sky Stretch or ADSS is a much more intuitive stretch algorithm. It is also color preserving (which is a great new addition in itself ! ) which means that the highlights are no longer bleached, color is maintained from the linear data while stretching. You can simply stretch your data using the sky background level and signal width sliders which work much easier and more intuitive. You no longer need to fiddle with the old complicated sliders with zoom buttons. All the zoom buttons for the sliders are made redundant. And you can enter slider values in the slider value fields yourself. I will make a youtube video in the coming days to explain and fully introduce ADSS. Once the video is ready, it will be highlighted on the forum.
RGB Combine upgrade !. The RGB Combine Tool has been rewritten mostly. The tool is faster and easier to use and most importantly, the Luminance slider to inject a luminance channel or channels into the RGB composite is now working correctly. It no longer bleaches the RGB colors. Combined with the new ADSS preview, you will get much better and easier great composites with great color! I will also explain this in a new youtube video.
I have a strange issue going on that I can't seem to figure out. So, with my OIII data, the final stack is pretty much black when I use dark frames to calibrate(no flats were used). But, when I stack without darks applied, I have a normal-looking image, but with amp glow. Can someone please help me understand what's going on? My dark frames are the same gain and exp length as my light frames. Also, my HA data calibrates just fine. The main difference is that my OIII data is poor. My guiding was not great, very heavy winds last night, so my stars are elongated. I've attached a couple of images, first one is the OIII data with dark frames and the second without darks applied. The last image is the HA stack with darks applied and amp glow removed. Thanks in advance.
Â
@darko7411 Hi Thomas. Did you use the same software for taking the darks and the OIII lights? Is the offset applied to the darks and the OIII lights the same? Did you use a master dark for calibrating the OIII lights and, if yes, does it help if you use the raw darks instead?
So I re-shot my darks and the stack is no longer black, so my offset must have been off. But now its not removing the amp glow. Any ideas?
@darko7411 Again, did you use the same software for taking the darks and the OIII lights? Is the exposure time of the darks the same as that of the lights? Are you using any bias frames too and, if yes, is the offset for those the same as for the darks and lights?
- Yes, same software, NINA. Same offset, gain and exp length for the darks and lights. No bias or flat frames used, just darks and lights.
I figured it out. My binning didnt match from lights to darks. Good to go now, thanks for your help.
@darko7411 Nice catch and I am glad you figured it out. I'll add that to my list of questions to ask if someone else has a similar issue in the future.Â
