June 24 2026 APP 2.0.0-beta46 has been released !
Improved internal memory configuration (lower ! memory usage), fixed beta45 startup issue, fixed Set Save Directory & 2-panel mosaics.
May 27 2026 APP 2.0.0-beta45 has been released !
Fully Multi-Threaded LNC, many improvements for the registration engine, platform upgrade, and further tuning of internal memory consumption and memory release back to OS.
Apr 14 2026: Google Pay, Apple Pay & WeChat Pay added as payment options
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.
Same camera, same telescope.
1. A bunch of 2 min exposures
2. A bunch of 45 second exposures
3. A bunch of 10 second exposures.
I tried entering 3 different sessions. Each session with its own Lights/Flats/Bias but darks
common to all sessions.
Asked APP to integrate and it failed saying something about my stars BUT when I integrated each session
separately I had no problem.
So now I have three 'final' fits files from the 2min, 45sec, and 10 second sessions.
How best to combine these?
I know I could process them to TIFF files and use layers in Photoshop but I think APP can do this for me?
Clues appreciated as always.
Tried again, removed all the 10 sec subs and it worked with the 2 min and 45 sec. subs.
Robert
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Robert
A couple of comments.
You can load these as separate sessions and combine them in APP.
If you use the same scope and camera (and haven't changed anything) you don't need separate flats and bias for each session, but it does no harm if you do.
However, you must have darks that match the exposure time and temperature of your lights. These should be loaded with each session. If you use a cooled camera these can be created the next day (or in advance). If you have an uncooled camera you can also do them later if you can get the camera to about the same temperature. If you have a mismatch between the exposure time of your darks and the exposure time of the lights (in each session) APP will complain.
If you want to integrate the sessions together then in the Integrate tab under Multi session options select "Integrate per session and all". This will produce a combined integration but also give you the individual session results to play with. You can leave the integrate options at their default settings, or you might like to try changing the weights to "exposure". I would try it both ways and see what produces the better result.
Bear in mind that if you have really big differences in dynamic range (eg M42) you might be better off combining them the old fashioned way, using layers and masks.
JC
@connor231 Thank you sir. I will give you step by step a go. Happily I keep all my files for reasons just like this. I was shooting M45...not as dynamic range intensive as M42 but still demanding. Honestly it was not a great night of 'seeing' but you know sometimes we just have to try 🙂
It worked!
 As mentioned conditions were not great. Clear Outside said don't shoot but obviously I shot anyway. Turned out to be a great study in what APP can do stacking different exposures.
Glad to help, and your shot is a fair bit better than my first go at the Pleiades. It was about 5 years ago and I had no idea what I was doing.
JC
@connor231 JC you're very kind. In astrophotography knowledge I'm in kindergarten 🙂
But I know enough that my image of M45 is crap! But there is always the next time.
