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 am uploading my sky flats i took last week could you check them they are in a folder called LRGB sky flats. I am going out to the telescope to setup for some electro luminescence flats.
Mike
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Just uploading some electro luminescence flats with matching dark flats could you try those they are in folder called electro luminescence. I am also going to try some plan flat just bu pointing the telescope to a blank wallÂ
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Mike
@moviecell
Sorry if this is irrelevant, but maybe it's something to check for as well. I have had a similar issue with geometrical illumination artefacts recently that looked like so:
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The cause of the problem for me turned out to be the diameter of the adapter connecting the camera to the scope. I've tried several tubes available and it was very telling:
As evident from the diagram even 1 mm counts.
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Hi thanks for the message i am open to any ideas to found out whats going on. I will check this out but i am running 2 inch {50mm} all the way from the camera with 2 inch filters right up to the 2 inch on the back of the meade so there should be no way light should be cut off. I even used some black felt to mask the barrels just in case it was a internal reflection some how.
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Mike
Well has a better day today found last night on a forum a tool to calculate the distance in a optical path a optical problem is. You put in some figures for the camera and the telescope and the size of the optical problem my case the large ring in pixels and it came back with around 66mm from the camera sensor. That put it around the focal reducer took the camera off and point the telescope to the sky and i could see a large ring of light all the way around the final reducer lens.
I stripped the reducer lens out and blacked the edge of the optics then i notice the lens bevel is only just covered by the lens metal work of the barrel so i 3D printed a round lens mask that removes about 2mm around the final reducer lens. This all seems to have helped see image below i have more light loss to the edge because of the 3D mask but i can't see any rings.
I now need to wait for a clear night to take some more new lights to try with the new flats.
Mike
Excellent Mike, sounds like you're close to the actual issue there.
