LuckyStackWorker v6, open source planetary/lunar/solar post-processing

Very cool, why have I never heard of this software?

tried it, works well

only thing I think would improve it a lot is adding a reset button so that the sliders reset to default

Thanks for the information. I didn't know about this software.
I've just tried it and in my opinion it lacks an ‘Original’ button that would allow you to temporarily return to the image before modifying it.

When I try and load an image all I get is the whirling wheel of death……….

Thanks for this update.Will be interested to see how it compares to  PlanetarySystemStacker.

Thanks for this update.Will be interested to see how it compares to  PlanetarySystemStacker.

PSS is a stacking app, while LSW is used for post-processing the stacks produced by PSS (or Autostakkert). I guess you could say it compares to some extend to how people use Registax, but then with options to automate the workflow and spend less time behind the screen.

To give an example: after a night's imaging session it typically takes a while for Autostakkert to run through all the captured SER video's. I then simply press the "Connect to stacking software" button in LSW. It will pick up the produced stacked images and apply all the pre-determined sharpening, denoising and other filter settings for that specific object, and save it in a seperate folder. In the meanwhile I go to bed or have breakfast and coffee in the morning..
So unless you use Winjupos de-rotation, there isn't much left to do once you determined the optimal sharpening, denoising and other settings to apply.
And even with de-rotation it saves me a lot of time because after stacking and processing is done I can determine the best image stacks, use those for de-rotation, and open the de-rotated PNG in LSW for final post-processing.

Wilco Kasteleijn:

Thanks for this update.Will be interested to see how it compares to  PlanetarySystemStacker.

PSS is a stacking app, while LSW is used for post-processing the stacks produced by PSS (or Autostakkert). I guess you could say it compares to some extend to how people use Registax, but then with options to automate the workflow and spend less time behind the screen.

To give an example: after a night's imaging session it typically takes a while for Autostakkert to run through all the captured SER video's. I then simply press the "Connect to stacking software" button in LSW. It will pick up the produced stacked images and apply all the pre-determined sharpening, denoising and other filter settings for that specific object, and save it in a seperate folder. In the meanwhile I go to bed or have breakfast and coffee in the morning..
So unless you use Winjupos de-rotation, there isn't much left to do once you determined the optimal sharpening, denoising and other settings to apply.
And even with de-rotation it saves me a lot of time because after stacking and processing is done I can determine the best image stacks, use those for de-rotation, and open the de-rotated PNG in LSW for final post-processing.

Thank you for taking the time to explain.Sounds very promising as a Linux user.

Francis Moreau:
Thanks for the information. I didn't know about this software.
I've just tried it and in my opinion it lacks an ‘Original’ button that would allow you to temporarily return to the image before modifying it.

yes,the default behaviour is too agressive and i would like to return it to a neutral state and work from there.The tool definetely has massive potential though.

Thanks. I will definitely consider it. There are defaults, but they only serve as an initial example. The idea is that you fine tune these to your own optimal settings (per object).

What I could do (for the next minor release) is to add a button that causes to return to the settings as they were when opening the image stack. What do you think?

As an alternative, what you can already do now is use the "Load profile" button and select the yaml file that is saved along with the processed image result when saving or pressing the Start batch button. That will restore the settings as they were when you saved it.

In terms of using mono rgb images,Can you explain the process?
Your guides says just load each one one after another,preceding the image choise by selecting the correct channel from the drop down menu before,but i'm having problems getting a colour image.it seems to just  stay the same colour as the last image i selected.

@daywalker I made a short demonstration video to show how it is done. Make sure to select the desired channel before opening the corresponding mono stack. 

Also,does the software expect the channels to be pre-registered?
At the moment I am doing sharpening in PSS and then registering the channels using siril..

The registration is done implicitly when selecting the R, G and B stacks as is shown in the video link above.

I got bored the past few weeks since the weather conditions have been quite bad for any planetary imaging, so I couldn't help myself working on a new release again  
The result of that is a new minor version with several new features and bugfixes that got reported by various people. 
I hope you like it. As always please don't hesitate to send me a PM on this site if you have any suggestions or find any bug.
As always you can download the app from github:

https://github.com/wkasteleijn/luckystackworker/releases/latest

Clear skies!

Good news: the new release 6.12.0 is out with the following new features:

• Deconvolution using a een real of synthetic Point Spread Function (PSF), see the explanation below
• Rotation
• Bilateral denoising
• Better performance through caching.

Then this new release also contains several other visible and less visible improvements on some existing functionalities:

• The Revert button resets all parameters back to 0 or neutral so that you start from scratch with the unprocessed image stack
• Improved cropping function
• Several other improvements & bugfixes.

Deconvolution using a PSF
You can apply Wiener Deconvolutionby ticking the new "Deconvolve" checkbox based on a default synthetic PSF. By clicking the PSF button the PSF panel appears (see screenshot below). This will allow you to apply a self shot real PSF (image of a star near the planet) or a synthetically created PSF. Using the parameters Airy disk size, Diffraction intensity and Seeing index this can be adjusted accordingly for an optimal result. To understand how this works it is best to read this blog article from Marco Lorenzi where he clearly explains the method and its apparent advantages in planetary imaging.


Enjoy and let me know if you happen to find any issues. This release has been carefully tested by multiple people but since writing and testing software is a complex undertaking you never know. Also don't hesitate to contact me if you have some suggestions for improvements or new features, let's collaborate!
Clear skies!
Wilco.