Complete Planetary Processing Tutorial from Start to Finish with AstroSurface

[@FrankSD76]

Thanks! Would never have made it through the program without you.

[@Naztronomy]

Glad it was helpful! Feel free to reach out with questions. Clear skies!

[@glennbrazier7938]

awesome tutorial... thank you so much...

[@Naztronomy]

Thanks! Clear skies!

[@DeepSpaceAstro]

Nice video Naz. I still need to play with this, and your video will help!

[@Naztronomy]

Thanks, Rich! Feel free to reach out if you have questions.

[@nicolasaigues]

This was incredible. Thank you. You have a new folower

[@Naztronomy]

Thank you :) I appreciate the kind words and the follow 😊 Clear skies!

[@RefreshingViews]

Thanks, Naz. Great tutorial, well presented. I like the way all the sort, stack, sharpen and "photoshop" functions are all in one place. It makes a change from jumping from Autostakkert to registax - plus you get batch processing too. Thanks once again for a great tutorial.

[@Naztronomy]

Thanks so much! And I'm happy to see that the developer of Astrosurface is still actively working on it which is great. Feel free to reach out if you have questions. Clear skies!

[@o0L4nc3r0o]

Thank you for this tutorial! I am used to PIPP, Autostakkert and Registax, but always wanted to try Astrosurface. Now I know how to use it. :)

[@Naztronomy]

Good luck! Let me know if you have questions. I was also used to PIPP, AS!3, and Registax. My video a couple of years ago on processing Saturn used those 3 software: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6mWlaeGj5t9ZtU AustoStakkert!4 is out now and it's stacking process is actually really really good. If only it had a way to post-process 😊

[@o0L4nc3r0o]

@@Naztronomy Yes indeed, and Registax is very unstable. A few 1000 frames to stack, and the program just freezes... 🤔

[@Naztronomy]

@@o0L4nc3r0o Ah yeah, it's just old and I'm sure it'll eventually run into compatibility issues and won't even start as everyone gets forced into Windows 11.

[@rockhauling.d.4816]

That’s my first time hearing about this program And it’s excellent video to Thanks so much

[@Naztronomy]

Thank you 😊

[@GarnettLeary]

Pretty cool program. I like streamlining. Recently I brought all my DSO into Affinity Photo 2. I’m going to take a crack at this program. Nice presentation thank you. Happy holidays

[@Naztronomy]

Thank you! I know a few people who use Affinity Photo and love it but I haven't tried it yet. Let me know if you try AstroSurface and have questions. Happy Holidays to you as well 😊

[@patpatterson6073]

great tutorial! I think I will give it a try!

[@Naztronomy]

Thank you, Good luck and feel free to reach out with questions 😊

[@patpatterson6073]

Hey I have been using this program and I really like it I really like the sharpening feature along with others that stay preset and just by clicking on it it makes the changes automatically. Also the white balance feature works nice also. Again thanks for posting this video!​@@Naztronomy

[@Naztronomy]

Awesome! Really glad to hear 😊

[@AtlanticCanadianAstronomy]

Many thanks from NFLD Canada. New sub!

[@Naztronomy]

Glad this video was helpful!

[@nancyricigliano19]

Great tutorial, thank you

[@Naztronomy]

Thank you ☺

[@Bills_APCh]

Very comprehensive tutorial Naz. Thank you, I find it most helpful as I am exploring new options. What are your opinions on high pass filters in planetary processing ? Also, what telescope, barlow strenght and type and camera did you use ?Was a ADC used ? Sorry if I missed it during your video presentation.

[@Naztronomy]

Thank you! For high pass filters, are you referring to UHC filters? If not, let me know what you are referring to and I can give you my opinion. I do think it's a good idea to use UV/IR cut filters for planetary (and other objects as well) but I didn't use one for my session for the video. I'm using a 6SE SCT with a 3x Barlow (effective focal length of 4500mm), with my ASI533MC Pro camera. No ADC used. Here's another video where I go over my setup and imaging in more detail: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mH68k6mmqsxgmLc - The gear and imaging techniques used were the same between the two videos but they were done a couple of weeks apart. Let me know if you have any more questions!

[@Bills_APCh]

@@Naztronomy I mean high pass filters (sharpen) in photoshop and imaging programs, not glass you put in front of camera sensors.

[@mejia329]

Hat's off you. Great tutorial.

[@Naztronomy]

Thank you 😊

[@kendalsmucker4899]

Using V3, tutorial still helps

[@Naztronomy]

Awesome, that's great to know! I've been meaning to do an update but with Saturn at some point in the future.

[@croenan]

Tip When you are showing details in a picture, especially a comparison, watch the mouse movement. Gonna try out astrosurface today. Thanks!

[@fabioyt77]

great tutorial; would suggest to use also RGB align function (is like Registax auto balance), i use it before apply wavelets and white balance and works great - thanks again for sharing this video

[@Naztronomy]

Thank you!! If you stack in AstroSurface, you can align the RGB channels during the stacking process. I briefly go over that around the 7:52 mark of the video. If you try to align RGB after doing it during stacking, then the values just remain at 0. I probably should have mentioned that for anyone skipping stacking and going straight to the post-processing workflow. Maybe if I ever redo this video with a newer version of AstroSurface in the future 😊

[@davidbarclay5440]

Great video Naz clear and straight to the point. I am very new to AP so anything that is simpler to use is to be welcomed. Is there any reason you would not use Astrosurface for DSO? I am stumbling my way into it all at the moment and dont want to invest lots of time and frustration on software that is not fit for purpose.

[@Naztronomy]

Thank you! I won't completely dismiss Astrosurface for DSO since I haven't fully gone through the process but compared to other DSO stacking and processing software, AstroSurface is pretty basic. Sometimes that's all you need but it can't keep up with other software like DeekSkyStacker, PixInsight, AstroPixelProcessor, and Siril. In my opinion, the most newbie friendly software for DSO stacking is AstroPixelProcessor. You just load your files, pick the algorithm, and stack. The default options that it comes with will work for 80% of your workflow. You can make small tweaks for the other 20%. Its post-processing tools are not the best, but they're okay. You just have to play around with it OR you can take the stacked image out into photoshop or gimp and edit it there. APP is great but it's not free. But they do have a 30 day trial if you want to try it out. I have a few videos on using it in this playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLZXwjJf5AEw7igx5rU1uBvUU4fvd6oPvL But you want something that's totally free then Siril is what you should look into. It has gotten SO much better over the last 2 years. I've been using it since it was in beta and the process used to be overwhelming but they've come really far. I have a few Siril videos in the above linked playlist as well and I want to make a few more at some point just so I don't lose my knowledge. I'd also recommend checking out the channel called @DeepSpaceAstro for Siril videos. PixInsight is probably the best tool out there but if you want simple, this ain't it 😉

[@davidbarclay5440]

Thanks for the advice Naz, I will certainly have a look at the programs you mention. At the moment I am still getting to grips with the basic concepts, terms etc of AP so may stick with Astrosurface then move on when I feel its holding me back. @@Naztronomy

[@Naztronomy]

​@@davidbarclay5440 That sounds like a plan! Feel free to reach out if you have questions. Or if you think of a new video topic for me 😊

[@RobertDumesny]

I watched a video on this program last year and thought then I should give it a try, but didn't get around to it. But now that I have seen this one I will have another look at it. I have the program on my computer already but that is as far as I got. I assume that it will stack a group of images. I cant remember if that was discussed in the other video that I watched, or did I miss it in this one. I have images of the sun and the moon I would like to stack. Cheers Robert Aust'

[@Naztronomy]

Hey Robert, yes it will stack a group of images as well. In the video around 2:02, I click File >> Open File. But right under that option, you have two other options that are "Open Sequence of Files" and "Open List of Files" that will both work. "Open List of Files" is probably the easier option. Let me know if you have any issues. I'm currently working on stacking some moon pictures myself using AstroSurface so I can also record my steps.

[@newbee1016]

@@Naztronomy Thanks for the reply, I will go back over the video and have an other look. I have watched a few more videos on AstroSurface and it looks very impressive, I like the way that you can practically do everything in one program, I saw in one video that you can add borders and text to your image as well. It will be interesting to see if it will get rid of the camera noise that I am getting with my ZWO120 MC Pro. I have downloaded the latest version seeing that the one I had was a bit out of date, so to speak. Cheers Robert

[@Naztronomy]

@@newbee1016 Yeah, Astrosurface is an impressive piece of software. And it's true that you can add borders and text to your images as well. Stacking should get rid of some of the noise. Good luck with your data, let me know if you have questions!

[@newbee1016]

@@Naztronomy I am having trouble loading a small batch of images. I can get a singal image in with out any problems and edit it etc. but no batches. The images are taken with my DSLR Canon 1300d, I put all the CR2 files in one folder, and the JPG in an other, I can select the folder but can't high light all the images to load into AstroSurface. Any clues? Cheers Robert

[@Naztronomy]

@@newbee1016 Are you having trouble with both the CR2 and JPGs or just one format? AstroSurface can't open CR2 files in batch unfortunately, so you'll have to convert them all to PNGs or TIFs and open them that way. If you're having another type of issue, let me know.

[@Bills_APCh]

I downloaded your jupiter video and it showed it was 8 bit video. Why did you use 16 bit in your processing workflow? Why is Jupiter so green in your video ?

[@Naztronomy]

Good question! 16-bit in processing gives me better control when editing because I can do much finer adjustments to the color. And recording at 8-bit gives me much higher framerate which is ideal for planetary photography. This thread on CloudyNights also has a great explanation for recording in 8-bit over 12 or 16: www.cloudynights.com/topic/715880-firecapture-bit-and-file-settings/?p=10313180 Jupiter is green because it's not white balanced. Most cameras have a bayer pattern of RGGB where there are always two green pixels. So everything kind of looks green. You need to do a color/white balance so that the colors even out and look a little bit better. When we record in .ser format, it's recording raw data so getting the green tint is fine because we can balance the colors later on like I do in AstroSurface. Let me know if you have any more questions!

[@qonos68]

Hello, just a question regarding the percentage of frames used for stacking. I'm currently using AS!3 and trying Astrosurface. Normally I choose a percentage of frames basing on a given required quality, e.g. I want to use only the frames with a quality greater than say 70% and AS!3 chooses say the 30% of the images with the required quality. How do I accomplish this here? You talked only about a given percentage of frames. Did I miss something?

[@Naztronomy]

That's a good question and sorry that I didn't clarify in the video. The percentage of frames that you select in AstroSurface will select the best frames. So if you put 30%, it'll only stack the best 30% of the frames. The one advantage that AutoStakkert has is that you can specify up to 4 percentages so it'll stack 4 different images for you in one go. In AstroSurface, if you want a 30% stack and a 20% stack, you'll have to do it twice. let me know if you have more questions.

[@qonos68]

@@Naztronomy thank you for the very quick reply. When you say if I put 30% and AstroSurface will choose for me the best 30% of the frames, am I able to choose this percentage basing on a required quality percentage (which is IMHO of paramount importance)? While in the AS!3's quality graph curve I can choose quality (the y axis) and ctrl-clicking on the green curve I get the frame percentage (the x axis), on AstroSurface graph I have two sliders on the x and y axis: it's my understanding that with the slider on the x axis I choose the frame percentage, but what about the slider on the y axis and how these two are related with the red curve on the graph (if that is the quality curve)? Sorry I'm really very confused on this point.

[@Naztronomy]

@@qonos68 The red curve is the individual frames in order from best (left) to worse (right) using the 'C' algorithm (Disk or Surface with details). This curve is similar to AutoStakkert's green curve. The slider on the X-Axis says that anything to the left is to be stacked. The quality estimate is at the bottom of the chart in red. The slider on the Y-Axis works to limit the blue curve (I know it looks more like a heart rate monitor). The blue curve is AstroSurface's deepSky algorithm ('S' algorithm) which could be useful for things like the Galilean moons because in a telescope, they do look like stars. So you can use that slider to limit which remaining frames get stacked. So any frames above that line will get stacked. in most cases of planetary processing, you don't even have to worry about the y-axis slider. I only really find myself using it with Jupiter if I'm able to see one of its moons. And I can eliminate the frames that get the worst "deep sky score." Any remaining frames in the top left 'box' is what is stacked. If you keep the defaults, you'll notice that the Y-Axis slider is usually all the way at the bottom and isn't used anyway. Let me know if this makes sense. I wouldn't think too much about it because the UI can definitely get confusing. I sent the creator of astrosurface some UI improvement notes a while ago including better labeling and documentation for the analysis chart but not sure if they'll be implemented.

[@qonos68]

@@Naztronomyit makes sense and thank you for explaining what "C" and "S" means and the slider usage. In my opinion lacking of a clear evidence of frame quality indexes is a great cons for using this program for stacking. I mean, when I do planetary and make say 2 hours of 1-2 mins of lucky imaging, the following step is to measure the quality of the captures. I have a spreadsheet with all my captures, I measure with AS!3 the top quality index of every single sequence and the number of frames with quality above 70% or 50% depending on weather conditions. Basing on these two values I decide which sequences to discard / retain. Without a clear evidence of quality indexes how am I supposed to choose the right sequences for stacking? Blindly choosing 50% or 30% or 70% of the frames without a clear idea (and by saying "clear", I mean based on numbers) of the quality of those frames doesn't make absolutely any sense to me. On the other hand the postprocessing part is a great improvement compared with registax (which sadly is starting to get old) and I will use it for sure. But no, for stacking I will be probably stick with Autostakkert.

[@Naztronomy]

@@qonos68 I totally understand what you are saying. At the end of the video, I mentioned that I still use AutoStakkert as part of my workflow because it's the gold standard in planetary stacking. AstroSurface is probably good enough for most people who are looking to just quickly stack and process. And I'll continue to use it for processing but keep using AutoStakkert for stacking like you. If you haven't yet tried AutoStakkert!4, I'd recommend it. It's technically still in beta but the memory and processing management has gotten much better than AS!3 and it stacks much faster. I made a video on that a while ago here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/moTZnqOBgsSkapo Clear skies!

[@robbramos2047]

Can it be used for solar imaging?

[@Naztronomy]

Yep! Similar process for the sun. If you're stacking h-alpha solar images, then I have a different workflow that you can follow here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gaOudImLa9Gofrs

[@rockhauling.d.4816]

My 585 mc records on monochrome and it done converted it to rgb like AS3 did before Any idea ? Thanks

[@Naztronomy]

When you load the video file, select 'monochrome' as the decode parameter. See the video at 2:14. It defaults to RG(GB). You can also switch it back to monochrome later. If you look at one of the center buttons, it's called 'RGB-Mono' and you can convert it to monochrome using that option. Hope this helps!

[@rockhauling.d.4816]

Some how asiair pro converting it on monochrome raw But selected number 3 byer RG and did brought the colors like AS3 used too

[@Naztronomy]

@@rockhauling.d.4816 ASIAir's Raw video mode just records in what's called bayered mode where it records every pixel as monochrome. It's best for contrast and color later on. The 585mc is a color camera that you can "debayer" during processing to get the color. it's bayer matrix is RGGB. So when you feed it into apps like AutoStakkert or AstroSurface, you can tell them to debayer it and the applications know which pixel is supposed to be which color and it assigns that color. So it makes sense why selecting the 3rd bayer option in astrosufurface turned it color (same in AS3). The video I processed in the video actually starts monochrome too because it was recorded as a RAW .ser file from FireCapture. When I load it into AstroSurface, it detected that it's from a color camera with a bayer matrix of RGGB. Hope this makes sense! Let me know if you have any more questions.

[@kenh733]

What does bayer mean? Im a newbe

[@Naztronomy]

Good question! A Bayer pattern is just the color pixel pattern on a camera sensor. For example, an RGGB Bayer pattern on a sensor would look like this: RG RG RG GB GB GB And that repeats for the entirety of the sensor. With this pattern, we know which pixel is red, which is green (always 2 greens in RGGB), and which is blue. But when cameras record raw images/videos, there is no color associated with the pixels so they all look monochrome so you can kind of see them like this: WW WW WW WW WW WW So when you "debayer" your images, you just assign red, green, and blue to the appropriate pixels because you know from the Bayer Pattern, what pixel is supposed to be what color. And when you process your images/videos, you typically debayer it and they go from monochrome to color. RGGB is just one type of bayer pattern. You can also have BGGR or RGBG. The word "Bayer" is just named after the person who invented it. Let me know if you have any more questions.

[@jbreezy3146]

It's nice to have options but just my opinion here I still find registax simpler to use.

[@Naztronomy]

Totally agree! Registax has been an amazing tool for almost 2 decades now. I still use it if AstroSurface gives me issues. One reason I'm glad that apps like astrosurface and planetary system stacker exist because Registax hasn't been updated in 2011 and the original creator has abandoned it for another project in 2023 (wavesharp). We could start seeing compatibility issues in a few years.