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.
If I understand correctly you first combine RGB, followed by light pollution and calibrate background. Follow this by star color calibration as per the tutorial videos. Of course you can change the sequence. So when you combine RGB and add luminance channel you take your time adjusting different sliders for the channels so that the image if pleasing to you mainly the image of the object. But when you do the Star color calibration the colors of main image object changes. Of course you can get some of the colors back by changing the sliders for magenta green or blue red or changing the slopes in star color calibration.
My question is if there is way to put a mask on the main image object and only change the star colors in star color calibration. For example, I was working on Dumbell nebula so I took my time combining LRGB by adjusting the sliders so the image is pleasing to me (more red and blue) but when I do star color calibration the colors of the nebula changes. It becomes green and some red but the blue disappears. Is there a way around this.I hope I am making sense.
Avi
@apatil You certainly make sense. There is no possibility of applying a mask in APP at the moment.
I have noticed this same thing. I do the calibration and play with it a little and if I don’t like the outcome then I just work without using the star calibration tab.
