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've done several other large mosaics using APP in the past and was able to do a single integration of all the data channels at once with decent success. MBB did a good job of blending the overlap, and LNC took care of the gradient variability across the different frames. Not perfect, but usable.
I'm attempting to do a 4 panel mosaic of M31 with the QHY600 and Esprit 150 and am not having success in trying to do them all at once. I'm running a new set of integrations that will process each panel separately in RGB and Ha which will then be processed as much as needed to make them ready to integrate into a final mosaic. But this is incredibly time consuming and I'd like to know if there is a way to reduce the workflow.
I've attached the result of my LUM panels being mosaic integrated. This was with LNC 1/3 and MBB, advanced mode normalization.
The data are great and each of the subs are evenly illuminated and exposed so I'll get a good result eventually!
Thanks in advance.
Eric
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That is looking strange indeed. What happens if you do it in the way (I think preferred way) by making the panels first and then use those to make the mosaic?
