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.
Hi, I cant get my mind around using the RGB combine panel. I have good data from OSC with l-enhance dou band filter, a good RGB image, a nice extract of Ha, and a nice extract of Oiii.
But I can't get the blue to show in the combined image of Lower's Nebula. I have tried most all the combination algorithms as best I can, but without success. Â
Can you point me toward a solution, tutorial or additional resource?
Many thanks!
@andynowlen It indeed can be tricky for blue to show up because in general the Ha signal is so much stronger. When you select the HOO 1 or HOO 2 formula, you can adjust the multiplicity factor (x) slider and the other sliders to tweak the formula. Just make sure to NOT click the "new formula" button unless you want to reset the sliders. It then depends on the data and also on your personal taste what the best slider settings are.
Also, once done with "combine RGB", you can load the image in "HSL selective color" and tweak the image further.
