StarTools

Which mode should I use if I only have RGB data? L,RGB? Or L with Synthetic L and RGB?

Also I use Astro Pixel Processor and when I process my RGB or Ha-SII-OIII frames I can have APP create a superluminance master from the three channels. SHould I d this and use it as L iin StarTools?

Thanks Wayne

Hi Wayne,

If all channels are of the same exposure length, you can use either "RGB, RGB".
If you have different exposure lengths between the channels, then you will want to use "L + Synthetic L From RGB, RGB", which will create a synthetic luminance frame from RGB (and would also allow you to add a "real" luminance frame, e.g. the first "L").

Assuming a "superluminance master" in APP is another word for a synthetic luminance dataset, then you could also import that as L, and the the individual channels as R, G and B respectively and use "L, RGB" mode. It should yield the same results, but you'll just have another file taking up disk space...

Be sure to import S-II, Ha and O-III as R, G and B respectively, as the Color module in 1.6 assumes the channels were loaded that way for the color scheme matrix remapping (otherwise it will still work and all schemes are still accessible, just swapped around as the labelling of what it is doing is wrong).

Cheers!

Thanks! If I do use the APP synthetic luminance, which is a luminance extract of a stack of all the R, G and B subs, what exposure time do you suggest? For example I have 90 minutes of Ha and O3 and 170 minutes of S2. 350 total minutes? Or is it smarter to divide 350 by 3 to get an average duration of the three separate filters?

Wayne

whixson wrote:Thanks! If I do use the APP synthetic luminance, which is a luminance extract of a stack of all the R, G and B subs, what exposure time do you suggest? For example I have 90 minutes of Ha and O3 and 170 minutes of S2. 350 total minutes? Or is it smarter to divide 350 by 3 to get an average duration of the three separate filters?

Wayne

If you use the APP-generated luminance, you would not add Ha, SII or OIII again to the luminance, so you would choose "L, RGB" where the exposure times are ignored (exposure times are only used in the case of synthetic luminance generation). Loading SII, Ha and OIII as R, G and B respectively, will - in "L, RGB" mode only provide the coloring. E.g. APP will/should have already done all the correct weighting during synthetic luminance generation.

Does that make sense?

Yes perfect sense. Thanks