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.
Good song, but not something I like to see in my pictures!
To be fair, I didn't really notice it until I made a mosaic. I guess it shows up better when the whole image is resized to fit in the window. But yeah, it seems there is a purple haze left over after dark subtraction. I use a QHY183C, so temp and offset are the same as the lights.
My stack settings are:
0
Ha-Oiii color (Optolong L-eXtreme filter)
1
35 Lights
50 Darks
2
Default settings. Adaptive pedestal/reduce amp-glow is checked
3
Default settings
4
Default settings
5
Default settings
6
Default settings except; 1st degree LNC/3, Enable MBB 5%, Bayer Drizzle
Am I screwing something up here, or is there anyway to tweak this?
I have processed part of the image to show the haze better. Like I said, it is hard to make out in the single image. But once combined into a mosaic, it is easy to spot.
Are you sure this is actually a processing artifact? I think you are very probably looking at some very faint Ha emissions.
Take a look at this image and you can see a similar deep red/magenta haze.
https://www.astrobin.com/302419/?nc=user
Maybe try minor adjustment of Green/Magenta balance. Very decent image though. I like the filimentary blue O3 detail.
Mike
Hmmm maybe you are right... I did not see it in other pictures though. If it is real, it should show up in the next panel whenever I get some clear skies again!
Right, I finally finished the Cygnus Loop mosaic, and there is now no doubt there is a purple glow left behind. The new frames covered over the problem area last time, and as you can see - no glow there now. But as we can also see, the new frames have the same glow on the left.
Im only shooting 5 min subs at unity gain, so I don't think the "amp glow" is clipping. Is this a OSC problem?
