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, When calculation of new star colour calibration is ongoing, pressing "OK & SAVE" causes the computer to freeze and inevitably have to restart APP. It happens already a long time (previous versions too)
and when you know it you just wait for APP to finish the calibration before saving the result. I think it can be simply circumvented by disabling the key until the program is ready. I am using APP version 2.0.0 beta 41 on a Mac mini M2-Pro processor.
Hi Mario @mario-pinto
Thank you very much for mentioning this issue.Â
So the hang/freeze occurs because you push the OK & SAVE button while APP is still calculating, right? I will test it and fix it for the next version 😉
Mabula
Hi Mabula, thanks, yes, that is my observation. By the way, APP works fantastically, stacking 300+ frames of 50MB is running smoothly and this issue is more related to my lack of patience ;-). Â Best Regards, Mario
Great Mario, thanks for the feedback 😉 Great to hear that all the optimizations in beta41 are working well for you !
I fully appreciate reporting this issue, it is a bug for sure and I will fix it.
Mabula
Hi Mario @mario-pinto,
I have fixed the issue for the next release 😉 :
FIXED CORRECT VIGNETTING, REMOVE LIGHT POLLUTION, CALIBRATE BACKGROUND, CALIBRATE STAR COLORS
As reported here https://www.astropixelprocessor.com/community/main-forum/star-colour-saving-causes-computer-freeze/#post-34327 if APP is calculating in the Calibrate Star Colors tool and you would push the OK & SAVE button while still calculating, APP would freeze and it would also produce an error on the command line through system out. This bug was present in all 4 tools as indicated in the bullet point for this release note. Another bug was pushing the Cancel button while calculating, it would also produce an error on the command line. Both bugs have been solved. If you push the OK & SAVE button while calculating, the tools will simply wait until the calculation is finished. If you push the cancel button while calculating, the tool will stop properly instantly without showing an error on the command line. During these tools, a little popup window can appear showing progress, we have removed this popup because it no longer serves a purpose and can be quite annoying as well.
I have also removed the annoying popup window in these tools, for some users on some platforms that little popup window creates not nice behaviour.
Mabula
Super, thanks Mabula!
