While Registax is fabulous for planetary processing (that's basically what it was written for), I have never used it for DSO. CCDStack (as mentioned already) is a great program. I've also used DeepSkyStack with success, and best of all.it's free. – is a free software for planetary stacking developed by Emil Kraaikamp. It produce excellent and amazing stacking results with as little effort as possible. It’s certainly the most simple software to use. AS!2 or AS!3 uses its own recentrer algorithm to recenter frames. So you don’t need to use extra program to. Verdict: Photoshop is the most popular software for photo editing and you can use it for editing astrophotography too. The main advantage of this astrophotography software is the ability to stretch the pixel data further. Using adjustment tools like levels and curves, you will be able to make your images more colorful and light.
Free Programs:
CCD Calculator (including pixel scale)
Clear Sky Chart - It's the astronomers forecast. It shows at a glance when, in the next 48 hours, we might expect clear and dark skies for one specific observing site
Deep Sky Stacker - freeware for astrophotographers that simplifies all the pre-processing steps of deep sky pictures.
Program Like Registax Movie
EQMOD - consists of a suite of open source applications that can provide an alternative to the hand controller on supported German Equatorial Mounts
Stellarium - is a free open source planetarium for your computer.
Cartes Du Ciel - program enables you to draw sky charts, making use of the data in many catalogs of stars and nebulae.
PHD2 - is telescope guiding software that simplifies the process of tracking a guide star, letting you concentrate on other aspects of deep-sky imaging or spectroscopy
Excalibrator - uses the SDSS or APASS database to identify stars in your image that should be white. eXcalibrator then computes color correction factors.
ASCOM - is a many-to-many and language-independent architecture, supported by most astronomy devices which connect to Windows computers
Registax - Free software for alignment / stacking / processing images
Fits Liberator - is a free software program for processing and editing astronomical science data in the FITS format to reproduce images of the universe.
StarStax - StarStaX is a fast multi-platform image stacking and blending software, which is developed primarily for Star Trail Photography.
N.I.N.A. - N.I.N.A. offers a broad variety of capabilities. The toolset spans from choosing, framing, focusing, centering and imaging one or multiple targets and much more.
Astra Image - Astra Image gives you everything you need to make your images sharper, clearer, more amazing. With a clean, easy-to-use layout and intuitive tools, you will be making better photos in no time. Available as an application and Adobe Photoshop plug-ins.
Genicapture - Genika Astro is an image acquisition software dedicated to astronomical imaging.
It supports high speed cameras from Andor, AVT, Basler, IDS, PointGrey, QHY, Raptor Photonics, Celestron / The Imaging Source cameras and ZWO (Does not appear to be updated any longer however recommended by ZWO)
Paid:
Sequence Generator Pro - is software that is capable of executing complex sequences of capture events which will allow you to spend more time looking up and less time fighting with your rig.We also feel strongly about providing software at down to earth prices.
Pixinsight - Advanced Image Processing. PixInsight is a modular, open-architecture, portable image processing platform.
Maxim DL - Cyanogen Imaging® MaxIm DLTM includes an extensive suite of image acquisition, processing, and analysis tools. Starting with complete observatory integration, MaxIm DL takes you from gathering raw data through to the final high-quality result with the minimum of effort
Astro Pixel Processor - complete Deep Sky Image Processing applicationwith several new and innovative feautures.
AstroArt - A complete software for astrophotography: image processing, astrometry, photometry, camera and telescope control.
Voyager - Voyager is a systems integration software, interfacing third-part software products to make them work together and achieve practical results, using a single management console.
Prism - All-in-One Software Package with Plan, Capture, Automate, Process.
Astro Photography Tool - APT stands for 'AstroPhotography Tool' and it is like Swiss army knife for your astro imaging sessions. No matter what you are imaging with - Canon EOS, Nikon, CCD or CMOS astro camera, APT has the right tool for planning, collimating, aligning, focusing, framing, controlling/tethering, imaging, synchronizing, scheduling, meridian flipping, analyzing and monitoring.
CCD Stacker - provides you with many tools to process, assemble and view your astronomical images.
CCD Inspector - Unlike collimation procedures of the past, CCD Inspector provides a revolutionary new way to collimate a compound-optics telescope.
TheSkyX - is an essential tool for observatory control, deep space imaging and scientific discovery, and includes the broadest range of advanced features to enhance your experience under the night skies.
Backyard EOS - is software tailor made to control your Canon DSLR camera. It is purposely built with astro-photography in mind.
Star Tools - is a image post-processing application built from the ground up exclusively for modern hardware and modern astrophotographers.
Updated: 11/20/2020
Overview:
Setting up the telescope for a night of imaging is only half of the equation. Capturing the images and post-processing them can be time consuming but the end result can also be quite rewarding. Depending on the equipment and software used there are many methods to capture and process the image data. The following steps are simply the way I capture and process my images using a Meade LX90 and DSI Pro II imaging camera.
My Equipment Setup:
The following is an example of my equipment setup when preparing for a night of imaging:
- Position and level tripod.
- Attach LX90 OTA (Optical Tube Assembly) to the tripod and fasten securely.
- Attach Dew Shield to Optical Tube as needed.
- Re-level scope.
- Run Power. This can be either 110v current, or 12V DC power depending on the location.
- Setup folding work table.
- Setup Laptop computer.
- Attach the appropriate focal reducer and spacer to the DSI depending on which objects I am planning to image.
- Attach the DSI imager to the telescope and connect it to the laptop using a USB cable.
- Position counterweights to achieve balance at approximately 30 degrees.
- Turn on the telescope and ensure that the Autostar hand controller has current information such as Location, Date, Time, etc.
- Prior to darkness, Calibrate the Sensors, and Train motors on the telescope for more accurate tracking (if necessary).
- Once dark, turn on the telescope and perform an automatic (2-star) alignment. I use a 9mm Illuminated Reticular eyepiece for this although I can also use the DSI and laptop to align as well.
- Boot up the laptop and start the Meade Autostar Envisage program.
Once the telescope has been powered on and aligned it can then locate objects in the sky. The Autostar controller contains a database of over 12,000 astronomical objects. An object is selected, and the go-to button is pressed. The telescope will now locate that object and center it in the field of view then track the object. Once this is performed the object can then be imaged.
Why I prefer a Monochrome camera over a Color CCD camera:
• A mono CCD has every single pixel sensitive to shades of black/white.
• A color CCD has a series of RGB (red/green/blue) pixels across its surface. So when a photon hits a mono CCD, it will 'excite' all of the pixels in the area it hits. The same pixel hitting a color CCD will only excite the RGB pixel that responds to color of the photon.
• The mono CCD is more sensitive to light since all of its pixels are identical and respond to all photons. The color CCD will have pixels that only respond to the color hitting them.
• While a mono chip can create a better image, if you want to get a color image out of a mono CCD, you will need to use filters and take a series of 3 or 4 images (RGB/LRGB) then stack them. So, while the color CCD certainly is more convenient, the mono CCD puts out the better image.
Image Capturing with Autostar Envisage:
There are a number of various programs that can be used to capture images.
•For Lunar, Solar, and Planetary imaging I prefer to use the Meade Autostar Envisage and K3CCDTOOLS programs.
•For Deep Space imaging with the Meade DSI Pro II I use the Meade Autostar Envisage and Stark Labs Nebulosity programs.
Here's an example of the Meade Envisage program:
(Click on the image to enlarge)
Using Envisage to capture images can be somewhat complex but the more it is used, the more familiar the user will become with the program. Images can be captured in a number of file formats but I have found that the best format to capture with is FITS. More on this later.
My Save options are to 'Save All Uncombined Images'. Once the image has been located, centered, focused, and adjusted, clicking the Start button will begin the process of capturing images. By selecting the 'Save All Uncombined Images' option, each image will be captured separately and a combined image will be produced as well. Separate images can then later be combined using various programs like Registax,Astrostack, Meade Autostar Suite's Envisage, or DeepSkyStacker (which is my personal choice).
Image Capturing with Nebulosity:
Here's an example of the Stark Labs Nebulosity program:
(Click on the image to enlarge)
Nebulosity is designed to be a powerful, but simple to use capture and processing application for a wide range of astronomy CCD cameras. Many cameras are supported for capture and images from just about anything can be processed (support for many FITS formats, PNG, TIFF, JPEG, CR2/CRW, etc). Its goal is to suit people ranging from the novice imager who wants to create his or her first images to the advanced imager who wants a convenient, flexible capture application for use in the field. In it, you get a host of purpose-built, powerful tools to make the most out of your images (e.g., Digital Development Processing, traditional alignment/stacking (equatorial and alt-az), Drizzle alignment/stacking, Bad Pixel Mapping, LRGB tools, real-time tricolor histograms for color balancing, star tightening via edge detection, adaptive scaling of stacks, Canon CR2/CRW RAW Bayer matrix loading, 32/96-bit accuracy, etc.)
DSI Pro II with attached filter bar:
If I am creating a color image, I capture 4 sets of individual images. They are Luminance, Red, Green, and Blue using the provided filters that come with the camera. See the following image which shows the camera, filter bar, and focal reducer:
(Click on the image to enlarge)
Image Stacking:
My image processing program of choice is DeepSkyStacker. This freeware program is an improvement over the Meade Image Processing program and provides additional features which makes my image processing quicker and with better results. DeepSkyStacker can be downloaded from http://deepskystacker.free.fr/english/index.html.
(Click on the image to enlarge)
The screenshot above shows a number of raw images that have been added to the DeepSkyStacker program. The individual images are of M1, The Crab Nebula. In the example above, this group of Luminance (mono) images will be stacked together in DeepSkyStacker to create one composite image. The procedure will then be repeated for my individual Red, Green and Blue images. Once completed, I will have four composite images that will then be aligned with each other in Autostar Image Processing then post-processed in Photoshop to create the final image. Note how faint the Crab Nebula looks. That is because the image above is only one single raw image. Stacking many frames on top of each other, will bring out more detail. Combining all four sets of stacked images together in Photoshop and post-processing will bring out even more detail.
The individual settings of each person using DeepSkyStacker varies. The following are the settings I use when stacking individual images. The version I use is 3.2.2 so other versions may differ slightly.
(Click on the images to enlarge)
Register Settings - Actions Register Settings - Star Detection Stacking Parameters - Result Stacking Parameters - Light Frames
Stacking Parameters - Alignment Stacking Parameters - Intermediate Files Stacking Parameters - Cosmetic Stacking Parameters - Output
Once I have stacked my four sets of individual images into 4 combined images, I need to align them with each other for final post-processing in Photoshop. I can do this using DeepSkyStacker, or I can stack them using Meade's Image Processing program which is part of the Meade Autostar Suite software package.
The following are the settings I use when stacking the 4 combined images. These vary slightly from the DSS windows above:
(Click on the images to enlarge)
Program Like Registax Without
Register Settings - Actions Stacking Parameters - Result Stacking Parameters - Intermediate Files Output files to be combined in Photoshop
Autostar Image Processing:
With Meade Autostar IP astronomical image processing software one can perform many of the same image processing tasks that a professional astronomer would do on a large institutional computer. With Meade Autostar IP you can:
• Enhance high resolution images using advanced image processing techniques.
• Determine stellar magnitudes directly from electronic images, and a number of other powerful features.
One can also use Meade's Autostar Image Processing program to stack the 4 combined images. Image Processing will align all four combined images with each other and create four aligned images so that each combined image will line up with the next. The way to do this is:
• From the main Processing window, select Group/New and select your 4 combined images (L,G,R, and B).
• Select Group/Align/Two Star. You are looking for a star pattern from all 4 images. These patterns are usually somewhat consistent across the entire image. In the example below similar patterns of four stars exist throughout the image.
• Using your mouse draw a box around a 4-star pattern. Go to the opposite side of the image and draw a second box around another 4-star pattern. The four unaligned images will now automatically process.
Example of 4 separate combined images before aligning.
(Click on each image to enlarge)
Once the 4 unaligned images have processed with each other Image Processing will automatically create four aligned images into the same directory as the four unaligned images. If the first alignment is not successful, or additional aligning is needed, process the four aligned images and create a new set of four images using the same process as above. Once the images are aligned, the result will look something like the following example:
The four aligned images are now ready to be post-processed in Photoshop.
Photoshop Processing:
FITS Liberator:
Like all of the above steps, there are a number of different tools available to process one's images. With post-processing, Photoshop is used by many because of the quality of the software, and the ability to bring out the rich detail of an image. The following will not be attempt to guide one through each and every step within Photoshop. Rather the following steps will serve as a guide for processing an image. More detailed links to step-by-step processing will be included below.
Program Like Registax Bill
I post-process my images using Photoshop CS2. My images are captured in FITS format.
What are FITS images?
FITS stands for `Flexible Image Transport System' and is the standard astronomical data format endorsed by both NASA and the IAU (International Astronomical Union). FITS is a file format used for many years in astronomy to store and move images from telescope-based instruments. It has been designed to provide capabilities needed by astronomers but is not a generally known format such as JPEG or TIFF.
Programs Like Registax
In order to process FITS images, either download a free FITS Liberator plug-for Photoshop (v2.2), from spacetelescope.org, or download a standalone version (v3) that does not require Photoshop from The European Homepage For The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Since I post-process in Photoshop I prefer the v2.2 plug-in. The system requirements are as follows: