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.
Tried building this mosaic with MBB set at 15%, but you can see the result in the heavily stretched image. Currently trudging through same integration with 40%
273 frames 4144 x 2822, three sessions. ASI294MX Pro gain 120, 120-second exposure with cooling at -10ºC
Can anyone suggest the source of the gradient or, better yet, how to get rid of it?
Did you use LNC as well?
@vincent-mod Yes. 1st degree with 3 iterations
Mmm, could you show a screenshot of the integrations per session? So what the separate panels look like?
Mm, not much to see really. Could you upload like 5 subs per panel to our server, so I can try as well?
Go to https://upload.astropixelprocessor.com and use upload as username and upload as password.
Create a directory named “tailspin45-mosaicissue” and upload in there. Thank you!
@vincent-mod Done. Created three subfolders, one for each session, with the requested 5 subframes for each session.
Thanks! I forgot to ask, but could you also upload master calibration data to the same folder?
@vincent-mod Done. Master dark and master flat, didn't make or use a master dark-flat
Thanks Tom, give me a day to process. Bit busy at the moment, sorry.
Sorry, took a bit longer. So I was confused as I got a 2 panel result. But it seems you accidentally uploaded the same data across 2 sessions. 🙂
You're right. Session 1 files are now the proper ones.
Thanks Tom, I'll work on it this weekend and come back to you then.
Hi Tom, so I had a go with the mosaic. First without calibration data (as that can be a cause of many issues).
I used mosaic integration, advanced normalization, scale stop to 10, LNC and MBB at 20% (there is a lot of overlap, so much that it's almost not a mosaic actually).
First result;
Clearly a lot of light pollution, so I'll try your flats after this.
Light pollution correction, going from the outside-in with the boxes;
And without all those boxes;
I added some saturation, with higher contrast as well. Seems to work, though could be better, let me try with some calibration data.
Ok, now with flats, they did help a bit, but you seem to have quite a lot of light pollution issues over there unfortunately. I think correcting the panels first nicely and then making the mosaic will work better. Now I just cropped a part that wasn't behaving nicely, it's still ok, but if we could manage the pollution better that would help a lot.
Thanks for your efforts. they certainly turned out better than mine!.
I live in a Bortle 7-8 area and try to manage light pollution with an Optolonhg L-Pro filter.
But the bigger issue may be local incident light from a street light across the street and bright lights at a desalinization plant about 1500m away.
Again, thanks for your help!
Oeh yeah that's not very nice indeed. I would also look into using narrow-band filters, that will help a lot in your situation. Have a look at a nice H-alpha filter, maybe you can borrow one from someone?
Is my above answer helping you to get the same result? That would be great if so. 🙂
@vincent-mod Just to wind up the topic here, I've hung a black curtain to block the nearby light sources, and have invested in an L-eXtreme narrowband filter.
Results so far look promising. Case closed, I say, and thanks for the help.
I'll post an image here if, indeed, the problem is solved.
That's great to hear Tom! If you need any help processing that kind of data, let us know!
Excellent! That is a huge improvement isn't it!








