Mar 28 2026 APP 2.0.0-beta40 will be released in 7 days.
It did take a long time to have the work finished on this and it will have a major performance boost of 30-50% over 2.0.0-beta39 from calibration to integration. We extensively optimized many critical parts of APP. All has been tested to guarantee correct optimizations. Drizzle and image resampling is much faster for instance, those modules have been completely rewritten. Much less memory usage. LNC 2.0 will be released which works much better and faster than LNC in it's current state. And more, all will be added to the release notes in the coming weeks...
Update on the 2.0.0 release & the full manual
We are getting close to the 2.0.0 stable release and the full manual. The manual will soon become available on the website and also in PDF format. Both versions will be identical and once released, will start to follow the APP release cycle and thus will stay up-to-date to the latest APP version.
Once 2.0.0 is released, the price for APP will increase. Owner's license holders will not need to pay an upgrade fee to use 2.0.0, neither do Renter's license holders.
As an APP and PixInsight user
I would like to have the following extra information included into the FITS Header of the integrated file, if possible
so that I can make easier use of this information when performing further processing on the image stack.
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The headers are as follows:
FOCALLEN
RA
DEC
DATE-OBS
XPIXSZ
YPIXSZ
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As all the sub frames of my stack are produced with the same camera and scope, even in multiple sessions, this information should remain fairly consistent.
What I'm looking for is for the FOXALLEN, XPIXSZ and YPIXSZ to be included provided all the subs were taken at the same settings. If combining multiple sessions, from different cameras, I understand it would not make sense to include this information as it is likely to be inconsistent.
For the RA, DEC and DATE-OBS, the information from any sub frame included in the integration should suffice.
The intention is for this information to be used to platesolve the image, so that it can be properly colour calibrated against Gaia data.
Dear @cjdawson,
Thank you very much for your request.
This issue is on our issue list and we will address it going forward. I have added this topic as well to the issue description so we will report back here if it is done.
Mabula
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Hi @cjdawson,
I have fixed everything for the 2.0.0-beta33 release,the FILTER tag, FRAMETYP tag and moving all distinct FITS tags from the reference or source FITS files to the output FITS images that APP produces across the whole application. So all relevant tags for plate-solving like RA and DEC coordinates will remain present now.
This is from the release notes:
- IMPROVED and FIXED, keep FITS HEADER TAGS from reference/source files including RA, DEC, FOCALLEN, XPIXSZ, YPIXSZ, DATE-OBS etc...
As mentioned in several topics like this one https://www.astropixelprocessor.com/community/rfcs-request-for-changes/include-more-fits-header-information-in-the-integration/#post-31871 , whenever APP would make a new FITS file, old FITS tags from the reference or source file would be lost like the RA and DEC coordinates of the object in the image. This is now fixed for the entire application. Calibration masters will still have all the information from the capture software like gain and sensor offset if present, integration files will have all the distinct FITS tags from the reference frame which should make sure that all information is correct like the RA and DEC coordinates. And saving FITS files in all tools will keep the original FITS header tags that APP will not add itself. The FTIS header will have a note that indicates when the transferred tags start from the source/reference file: HDU1 - NOTE-XX = 'Distinct header tags from the original/reference frame follow below'Â
See the below screenshots for the FITS headers that APP will now produce keeping the distinct FITS tags from the reference or source FITS files. Also note the addition of FILTER tag and FRAMETYP tags as described in the release notes below:
I will try to release 2.0.0-beta33 in the coming days for sure 😊 !
Mabula
That was quick.  I'll keep an eye out for the release so that I can give it a try.
Mabula, I was able to generate Extract HA. Extract OIII, and RGB Combine SHO files with the new release yesterday that had the full astrometric solution and worked well in PI, where I was able to use several of their tools which require the full astrometric solution. The RC Astro tools in PI are quite useful. Any prospect of them working in APP? Thanks for the great update.
@mabula-admin Hiya.  I've just downloaded it, and given it a go with a mosaic created using my Seestar S50.
Was able to run the image plate solver and the Spectrophotometric Colour Calibaration using the stack from APP without having to modify the FITS header of the stack.
This is perfect.
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Thank you.
