Version 9.0 SP3 - January 7, 2026
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* New feature. Weighted preprocessing.
* New feature. Demosaic of Sony x-trans raw images.
* New feature. Erosion and dilation with option for round kernel.
* New feature. More optional fields for ADES photometry.
* New feature. Quick insertion of FITS comments.
* New feature. Preset positions for focusers.
* New feature. The hour angle is shown in the telescope window.
* Improved. The maximum image size is now 30000x30000 pixels.
* Improved. PNG opening and saving is 30-50% faster.
* Improved. Parameter for saving compressed FITS from scripts.
* Improved. Preprocessing and Apply Macro can be minimized on the taskbar.
* Improved. File extension ".psv" is automatically used for ADES reports.
* Improved. Active optics parameters can be saved in multiple setups.
* Improved. Several speeds for telescope "Emulate with GOTO".
* Bug fix. Sometimes a warning for "defect map not found" was shown.
* Bug fix. Sometimes the button "Cancel" did not work in Apply Macro.
* Bug fix. The context menu for the FITS header was not translated.
* Bug fix. Some windows were not displayed properly with the dark theme.
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Weighted preprocessing
A new page in the Preprocessing Window now hosts all settings to weigh and reject images:
Normalization. The images are weighted depending their dynamic. This option is almost mandatory when sigma stacking is enabled for the images, unless the dynamic range and the background level remains the same in all images. It's not recommended for the methods Average or Sum.
Stars PSNR. This is the recommended weighting method. The PSNR of stars is an excellent indicator of the quality of the image. For more information see the paragraph about full-frame autoguide.
Stars roundness and FWHM. These options are not always recommended. It's true that they can provide a final image with better definition, but usually the S/N worsen a little, because images with imperfect stars still contributes to the signal of faint regions. However thanks to the speed of the Astroart preprocessing it's possible to try with and without them and evaluate quickly if they are useful for a given sequence.
Optional fields for ADES photometry
Be careful, serious photometry requires photometric filters and good know-how:
Quick FITS comments
Press CTRL + SHIFT + F to quickly add a comment to the FITS header.
