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 Mabula,
perhaps it already exists, but I could not find it: I would appreciate to have an ASCII-file export of the quality scores of all the subs in the processing. Such a file would allow me to analyse the set-up and to see if there is correlation between quality and regions or periods (both on a small and large scale). Preferably such a file would comprise (at least) of the following data:
- Date
- Time
- Temperature (if available from FITS header)
- Humidity (if available from FITS header)
- Pressure (if available from FITS header)
- Image coordinates in RA/DEC (this may vary due to dithering)
- Image coordinates in ALT/AZI
- Star count
- Star roundness (median?)
- FWHM (median?)
- Background level (ADU)
- Noise (ADU)
- Any other readily available quality indicator that I missed here...
- A field indicating whether or not the sub was rejected based on quality
Thanks in advance!
Nicolàs
Hi Nicolàs @infinnity-deck,
There is no such option yet. I have added it to my todo list, but it will take some time before this can be implemented because of other higher priorities.
I think it is usefull idea though, so therefore I added it to my ToDo list.
For your information, the quality scores are a relative score, so you will need to treat it as such. A score of 1000 for a certain image scale can be a completely different score in terms of actual quality of the data, when compared to a score of 1000 for another image scale shot at another location with another telescope.... so for 1 single setup with the same equipment you can use it to deduct meaningfull information when you vary the exposure time for instance.
Mabula
Hi Mabula,
thanks for your response, I am glad you like the idea and am willing to include it. That the quality figure is relative is fine for my application as I am always imaging using the same set-up. Besides, once implemented, I would also have the separate quality indicators as eccentricity and FWHM to my availability.
Hopefully you to-do list is not too long 😉 (but then I am not in a great hurry).
cheers,
Nicolàs
