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.
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I have been getting these odd stacking artifacts that look like star trails around polaris in my images.
QHY 163m with 6nm narrowband filters. I'm integrating Ha, S2, O3 via at . Only have darks in the attachment, havn't added flat/bias yet. Monochrome looks perfect, its just when combing each stack of Ha, S2, O3 as Red, Green, Blue that this happens!Â
Any suggestions?
Hi Rob,
I can see what you are referring to.
I think these are hot pixels. The circular pattern is probably due to field-rotation.
They can and should be removed almost completely form your lights by applying a Bad Pixel Map in calibration, which you can make from a set of darks and flats:
https://www.astropixelprocessor.com/community/tutorials-workflows/creating-a-bad-pixel-map/
Furthermore, if you still some hot pixels after integration with the Bad Pixel Map applied, try enabling an outlier rejection filter in 6) Integrate, like regular sigma clipping. That should remove any remaining hot pixels.
Let me know if this helps 😉
Mabula
Mabula,
The BPM fixed it : )
I think the circular pattern was a tiny amount of dew that accumulated towards the end of the imaging run on the front lens of the refractor.Â
Ok, excellent, thanks for the feedback 😉
Mabula
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