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New software for automatic post-processing of planetary, solar or lunar image stacks

Processing Solar System
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Wilco Kasteleijn avatar
Wilco Kasteleijn avatar
Hello all, despite the bad weather conditions here in Europe I have been quite active in Astronomy lately by developing a new application that aims to simplify post-processing of image stacks of planetary, moon or sun recordings. Typically these image stacks are the result of stacking software such as AutoStakkert or AviStack. 
It has become a project that sort of grew out of control and I ended up spending quite a lot of evenings and weekends to it. But it was worth it I think 😀
The application provides automatic processing of all image stacks of one nights session with one mouse click (OK, perhaps 2). Afterwards you can immediately pick the best results and add those to WinJupos derotation or compose an animation from them.
Allright, I'd say try it out for yourself by downloading it from the following link:

https://sites.google.com/view/wilcokas/luckystackworker

- Follow the instructions on the Download page for installation.
- I wrote a User Manual, it can be found under "Manual".

For the time being I only composed a windows installation. It is the 1st version and if you install it I would greatly appreciate any feedback via a private message for instance. So should you encounter any bugs (it is well likely given that I have only tested it myself so far), or you have some improvement suggestions let me know.
Below a screenshot of the app:
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Wilco Kasteleijn avatar
Wilco Kasteleijn avatar
Since last week I did some improvements to the app. Version 1.1.4 is now ready for downloading:

https://sites.google.com/view/wilcokas/luckystackworker

The following has changed:
- Added a zoom in/out function
- File selection with native windows look-and-feel
- Several UI layout improvements.

The Jupiter image below was post-processed with LuckyStackWorker. It was captured last year September 25.
Wilco Kasteleijn avatar
Wilco Kasteleijn avatar
A new version was pusblished today (v1.4.0) that adds various new improvements & features:

- Faster & better noise reduction algorithm sigma filter (since 1.3.0)
- Better working gamma filter (since 1.3.0)
- Storage of ouput in 48-bit RGB TIFF format, or 16-bit grayscale TIFF (since 1.3.0).
- Profile settings are now also stored per input stack after pressing "Apply Profile". They will then be automatically loaded along with the reference image in case you open it again later.
- By pressing "Save Reference Image" the settings are stored per output TIFF file. They can then be loaded manually later by selecting them using the "Load Profile" button.
- Added a Night Mode switch for working in the dark to reduce eyestrain.

Link for manual & download: 
https://www.wilcokas.com/luckystackworker

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Robert Winslow avatar
Robert Winslow avatar
Hello, 

Thanks for your effort to provide stacking software.  As there are many out there, can you describe what makes yours different?  As a developer myself, I find myself creating solutions for problems that no solution exists.  Very interested in your response, as I am working on an astronomy software solution as well, mine has more to do with the management of the data collected, and the storage of it.
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Wilco Kasteleijn avatar
Wilco Kasteleijn avatar
Hi Robert, it is true there are several apps now that provide somewhat similar functionality. I have tried many of them, however none of them I really ended up using for different reasons. Not because they are no good but they didn't seem to fully cover what I was expecting personally. 
As I see it the process of post processing image stacks is fairly simple but can become very time consuming and repetitive, especially when you have many recordings to go through. Tools like Autostakkert already address this to a great extend by automating and simplifying things, but only up to the point where you have the image stacks, which is not the end result.
Another aspect is that I tend to use the same sharpening/denoising settings depending on the object. But I tend to forget what settings I had used some months ago or last year, so I needed a way to recover those.
I wrote this tool mostly for my own needs, and perhaps it can serve other people as well.
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Wilco Kasteleijn avatar
Wilco Kasteleijn avatar
Hi @Apollo Lasky , thanks for the interest and trying things out. I would be interested in the details about what you find is missing. Could you send me a message perhaps? You can use the contact form: https://www.wilcokas.com/about
Regards, Wilco.
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Wilco Kasteleijn avatar
Wilco Kasteleijn avatar
Hello all, I have been quite active again lately with a new version 2 and I finally managed to complete it this week.
A short summary of the newly added features:

- The Denoise slider has been replaced with a whole new Denoise panel that allows full control of all the options of the Sigma filter algorithm using 4 sliders: sigma, amount, radius & iterations.
- The Light & Color panel also has a Saturation slider now.
- A Cropping feature has been added.
- The image window now allow scrolling through images that are larger than the window size (when zoomed in).
- An automatic new version check and notification feature has been build in.
- The UI has been improved in several ways, such as a more compact layout.

Link: https://www.wilcokas.com/luckystackworker

Enjoy! And let me know if you have any remarks, suggestions or bugs encountered via contact form on the website for instance.

Screenshot of the control window:
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Stuart Taylor avatar
Stuart Taylor avatar
This is a very interesting development. We are rather limited in options for this. Like most people I use Autostakkert! for integrating my solar system images then Registax to sharpen them. Those programs are quite old now and I don't think they are still supported/under development (please correct me if I'm wrong). I am happy with the results, but there is always scope for improvement, or better ways of doing things, easier UI etc.

I look forward to trying this out. 

Thanks for developing it as a free app and sharing it with the community.
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Stuart Taylor avatar
Stuart Taylor avatar
Unfortunately Norton just deleted it when I tried to run it. I guess this is because of the low number of users. Is there a way to fix this?



EDIT: after a lot of fiddling about (and about four re-installations) I've managed to persuade Norton 360 that this is not going to cause the end of the world as we know it, and it seems to run ok now.
gfunkernator avatar
gfunkernator avatar
Does this program do what autostakkert and regixtax do?  Particulary the wavelets functions.
Wilco Kasteleijn avatar
Wilco Kasteleijn avatar
Stuart Taylor:
Unfortunately Norton just deleted it when I tried to run it. I guess this is because of the low number of users. Is there a way to fix this?

I would have to buy a certificate, which costs a few hundred dollars.
Does this program do what autostakkert and regixtax do?  Particulary the wavelets functions.

It is indeed an alternative for Registax wavelets but you need autostakkert to do the stacking part, which can then be further processed (sharpen, denoise, contrast etc) using this tool.

Personally I get much better results using unsharp mask in multiple iterations (which is what this app uses) than Registax wavelets. But you need to play around with all the sliders to get the optimal combination for your setup.
gfunkernator avatar
gfunkernator avatar
@Wilco Kasteleijn Gotcha.

By the way, is that how it works with Norton?  You could "buy" certification for software so it doesn't get flagged by their definitions? 🤔😆
Wilco Kasteleijn avatar
Wilco Kasteleijn avatar
Well not specifically Norton. I'm not sure why it thinks the app can't be trusted, but what I do know is that windows defender will block direct execution unless it has a signed certificate. You can then decide to unblock it by selecting More info > Run anyway.
It happens also with other apps, like Winjupos for instance.
gfunkernator avatar
gfunkernator avatar
I didn't get prompted by Smart Screen but why does this software need a windows firewall exception?  To check for updates I'm guessing.

I just tried it out, not bad.  I like that it is faster than Registax.  Can you add a RGB Alignment tool like Registax has?  Autostakkert does this well, but running RGB Align in Registax in addition to Autostakkert further improves the alignment.  But yeah man great work!
Wilco Kasteleijn avatar
Wilco Kasteleijn avatar
I didn't get prompted by Smart Screen but why does this software need a windows firewall exception?  To check for updates I'm guessing.

I just tried it out, not bad.  I like that it is faster than Registax.  Can you add a RGB Alignment tool like Registax has?  Autostakkert does this well, but running RGB Align in Registax in addition to Autostakkert further improves the alignment.  But yeah man great work!

Hi gfunkernator, it is build up as a client-server app. The gui (client) communicates with the java backend server over a local http connection, thereby requiring access to local network, causing the windows firewall to pop up. In addition it also checks for updates, but it only does so max. once every 2 weeks.

The RGB alignment is a possible new feature, although I'm a bit hesitant to add it because I personally never need to do any additional alignment anymore after checking the RGB align option in Autostakkert.

My latest image of Jupiter serves as a nice new sample image.
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gfunkernator avatar
gfunkernator avatar
Autostakkert does do a great job at RGB alignment and registack just further improves it.  I use an ADC and while a simple concept to use it it's not always perfect either.  Sometimes on some nights it's impossible to get the colors aligned.  I guess I could align in registack and sharpen it in your program.