PixInsight 1.8.6.1473 Released

[Juan Conejero]

Hi all,

I am glad to announce a new version of PixInsight: 1.8.6.1473 for Linux, macOS, and Windows. This is an update/bugfix release. It solves most confirmed bugs discovered since the previous 1.8.6.1457 release and provides important new features, which I'll describe succinctly in this document.


Installation

As most new versions of the PixInsight core application, this one is not available as an automatic update. You have to uninstall the previous version, be it 1.8.6 or an older one, then download and install the new version manually. Of course, if you have already activated version 1.8.6 on your computer, no additional license activation will be required.


Bug Fixes

Version 1.8.6.1473 solves the following problems detected since the initial 1.8.6 version:

All platforms: All bug fixes in the previous 1.8.6.1457 version are included.

All platforms: All bug fixes in the previous 1.8.6.1448 version are included.

All platforms: Fixed a bug where a shaded (minimized) image window was unshaded spontaneously when the active window was closed. See the original bug report.

All platforms: File items were not being sorted correctly by file name in multiplatform file dialogs (non-native dialogs). This has been fixed. See the original bug report.

All platforms: FITS files with EXTNAME keywords in the first HDU were causing a crash upon file opening. This is now fixed. See forum bug reports here and here.

All platforms: The CometAlignment process was generating spurious data in areas uncovered by geometric transformations during alignment. This is now fixed thanks to a contribution by Franchesco Meschia.

All platforms: Fixed incorrectly elided text in the first column of a file list when more than 1000 files are included. This problem was affecting tools such as ImageCalibration, ImageIntegration, StarAlignment, SubframeSelector, etc., that is, all interfaces with files lists.

All platforms: Fixed a weird interaction between the Real-Time Preview window and the SampleFormatConversion process when a preview of the target image was selected on the R-T window. See the original bug report by Enzo de Bernardini.

All platforms: The ImageIntegration tool was not generating valid XPIXSZ, YPIXSZ, XBINNING and YBINNING FITS keywords in integrated images. These keywords are now generated correctly if the corresponding values are consistent for the entire set of input images.

All platforms: Fixed wrongly scaled icons on high-dpi screens in some dialogs of the update system.

Windows: The '--opengl=raster' command-line argument was not working correctly, potentially leading to crash upon startup. This is now fixed.


New Features

New version 5.3 of the ImageSolver script. This version implements a new local distortion modeling algorithm based on thin plate splines and shape-preserving surface simplifiers. This algorithm provides unprecedented accuracy in our astrometric solutions. I have written a dedicated tutorial which describes and tests the implemented algorithm with examples, usage recommendations, and a formal description.

New version 2.0 of the AnnotateImage script. The new version implements automatic annotation of planets and asteroids, with the implementation of state-of-the-art solar system ephemerides and position reduction algorithms. The new tutorial on ImageSolver includes some nice and interesting examples.

Fully functional Chromium-based web browser component, with multiple browser windows and file downloading support. There is a new Window > Web Browser Windows main menu item to control creation and selection of new web browser instances. There is also a new View > Downloads main menu item where you can control the list of downloaded files, which is persistent across core application executions.

PixInsight will now use the dedicated graphics card instead of the integrated card on machines with dual graphics on Windows (Nvidia Optimus or AMD Enduro). This should fix most graphics instability problems reported on these machines, mostly laptops, caused by incompatibilities with integrated Intel HD graphics drivers. Note that this won't work if you have created a profile for the application to use the integrated chipset.

New core JavaScript objects for data modeling and representation: GridInterpolation, PointGridInterpolation, ShepardInterpolation, SurfaceSimplifier. These objects are the JavaScript counterparts of their corresponding native PCL/C++ implementations.

Improved core JavaScript objects: New methods ImageWindow.celestialToImage(), ImageWindow.imageToCelestial(), ImageWindow.copyAstrometricSolution() and ImageWindow.astrometricSolutionSummary(). The SurfaceSpline.evaluate( Array ) method is now fully parallelized.

Support for the nonstandard FITS keywords BAYERPAT, XBAYROFF and YBAYROFF in the Debayer tool, for automatic Bayer pattern detection in FITS files.

ImageIntegration generates metadata for geodetic observer coordinates and acquisition time with LONG-OBS, LAT-OBS, ALT-OBS and DATE-OBS FITS keywords generated by averaging the corresponding keyword values found in the input data set. This facilitates astrometric solution of integrated images.

The Resources main menu is now dynamic and configurable. It is populated automatically upon startup with items read from the 'PixInsight/etc/startup/resources.xmnu' distribution file. Online resources are now opened on new integrated browser windows by default.

Source code syntax highlighting rules are now dynamic and configurable. Reserved words for different languages are now loaded from plain text files included in the 'PixInsight/rsc/shglt' distribution folder.

New command-line arguments. These new arguments control some advanced functions of the integrated web browser component. Excerpted from the command line help text:

         --accelerated-2d-canvas
         --no-accelerated-2d-canvas

               Enables and disables, respectively, the use of OpenGL framebuffers for
               HTML5 2D canvas in the integrated Chromium browser component. Implicitly
               forced to disabled state when --opengl=raster or --opengl=software are
               specified. Enabled by default otherwise.

         --webgl
         --no-webgl

               Enables and disables, respectively, support for HTML 5 WebGL in the
               integrated Chromium browser component. Implicitly forced to disabled
               state when --opengl=raster or --opengl=software are specified. Enabled
               by default otherwise.

New Preferences > Directories and Network > Proxy URL preferences setting. This is the proxy host that will be used for core network operations, with optional user authentication. This option only applies to core network operations, such as files downloaded with the File > Open Location menu command, the open terminal command, and the update system, among others. It does not apply to the integrated web browser component.

New Preferences > Main Window / Startup > Private web browsing mode preferences setting. Enable this option to keep normally persistent data in volatile memory when using the integrated web browser component, leaving no trace on disk. This includes cookies, the HTTP cache (documents, images, etc), and the browsing history.

Delta T database updated with the latest data available from IERS Rapid Service/Prediction Center online files, as of 2019 April 29. Delta T is the difference in seconds between the TT (Terrestrial Time) and UT1 timescales for a given date. It is an essential observational quantity for ephemeris calculations and reduction of astronomical positions.

CIP-ITRS database updated with the latest data available from IERS Rapid Service/Prediction Center online files, as of 2019 April 29. This database provides the coordinates of the Celestial Intermediate Pole (CIP) referred to the International Terrestrial Reference System (ITRS). These coordinates are necessary to account for polar motion in calculation of topocentric coordinates of solar system objects.


Breaking Changes

The macOS version of PixInsight requires now macOS 10.12 Sierra or later. OS X 10.11 El Capitan is no longer supported.

A new File > Quit (Ctrl+Q) main menu item replaces File > Exit (Ctrl+X) on Linux and Windows. This will prevent some issues with the Ctrl+X keyboard accelerator, which is the standard key combination for the 'Cut' command used in several components, such as Script Editor. In addition, the new File > Quit command on Linux and Windows is consistent with the macOS version of PixInsight.


Known Problems

All platforms. There is a confirmed complex bug involving the PixelMath and Statistics tools that I have not fixed yet. This problem has implications at a structural level within the PixInsight core application, which I need to study in detail. I'll try to solve this bug as soon as possible, but be aware that it is still present in this new version.

Windows. The Export as PDF feature of the integrated web browser component does not work on Windows. I'll try to fix this in a future release.

Windows. On machines where the only graphics card available is an integrated Intel HD graphics GPU, you may experience screen rendering problems and some instabilities on Windows. Unfortunately, the OpenGL implementation provided by some Intel HD graphics drivers on Windows is not fully compatible with PixInsight.

macOS. The macOS 10.14.4 update has changed 'something' in its OpenGL implementation that causes problems with Qt-based applications, such as PixInsight. The issues can be annoying but mostly not very important, including some problems while dragging items (such as clicking on a view selector and dragging) and unresponsive file items on the File Explorer window. Hopefully the just-released 10.14.5 update should fix these problems.

___________________

Thank you for your support and attention. Enjoy!

[wvanreeven]

Hi,

I am on macOS 10.14.5 (installed last night) and would love to test if the OpenGL/Qt issue has been resolved but ... there is no update available. See the attachments.


Thanks, Wouter

[sbenz]

Hello Wouter,

as this is a major update you will need to download it manually from the SW repository,

Best
Stefan

[wadeh237]

I was one of the people experiencing crashes with --opengl=raster.

With this update, I no longer see the crashes, but now PixInsight opens to a white window with just the title bar populated.

Under a debugger, I can see lots and lots of instances of the following error:

QOpenGLContext::makeCurrent() called with non-opengl surface 0x136f20f40c0
qt.qpa.backingstore: composeAndFlush: makeCurrent() failed

These all seem to follow after the below COM errors occur:

onecore\com\combase\inc\comcataloghelpers.hpp(67)\combase.dll!00007FFBF7C21DAA: (caller: 00007FFBF7C20205) ReturnHr(1) tid(f64) 80004002 No such interface supported
ModLoad: 00007ffb`f5d70000 00007ffb`f5e0a000   C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\sxs.dll
mincore\com\oleaut32\dispatch\ups.cpp(2125)\OLEAUT32.dll!00007FFBF74C4D62: (caller: 00007FFBF74C4EC6) ReturnHr(1) tid(21d4) 8002801D Library not registered.
mincore\com\oleaut32\dispatch\ups.cpp(2125)\OLEAUT32.dll!00007FFBF74C4D62: (caller: 00007FFBF74C4EC6) ReturnHr(2) tid(21d4) 8002801D Library not registered.

I realize that the first messages are coming out of the QT libraries and not PixInsight, and that the COM errors are coming from Windows.  I am mainly passing it along here in case you have any suggestions.

I've done some investigation and found instances of other folks using the QT libraries and seeing similar behavior that have posted to StackOverflow and other forums.  Unfortunately, I've not found one with a resolution yet.

Thanks,
-Wade

[wvanreeven]

Yes, now that I actually took the time to read the Installation part of Juan’s message I see that too. Thanks and sorry for the confusion!

[Juan Conejero]

Hi Wade,

Have you tried without any command line argument? If you have dual graphics, the new version should run without problems.

[wadeh237]

Hi Juan,

I have 3 machines on which I run PixInsight.  One of them is a server class machine running with Intel's built-in graphics for the Core-i7.  One of them is a Surface Pro Core-i5, which is also Intel graphics.

The third machine is a Surface Pro Core-i7.  That machine has a dual graphics, with an Nvidia chipset, but only when it is docked to the laptop keyboard.  Unfortunately, I usually use it docked to my workstation desktop, which gives me two external monitors in addition to the main display - but the Nvidia graphics are unavailable in that configuration.

All versions of PixInsight run without the opengl command line switch.  The problem in that case, is that the 1.8.6.x versions periodically throw an error trying to create a spinbox, and once in that state, I need to exit and restart PixInsight to get it working again (Fortunately, saving a project does not try to create a spinbox, so I've always been able to save my work when it happens.  But no PI processes with any spinbox will start once it gets into this state).  I've also seen some access violations (always null pointers) in the Process Console window.  On the assumption that these issues are due to Intel's OpenGL implementation, I've wanted to try running with --opengl=raster.  I have tried running with --opengl=software, but that does not seem to help the issue.

Thanks,
-Wade

[Juan Conejero]

Hi Wade,

As I wrote in the announcement post, current versions 1.8.6 of PixInsight for Windows don't support machines where the *only* graphics processor available is an integrated Intel HD graphics GPU.

The only solution to this problem is not using Windows, but this is obviously of no help for you. I am sorry about this, but there's nothing else I can do to solve this problem for now. Hopefully a future Qt version will fix these issues on Windows.

[GordonH]

I installed the latest release and now get this error message during ImageIntegration:

*** Error: Parsing SITELAT FITS keyword: Parsing sexagesimal expression: Parsing 64-bit floating point expression: conversion error:
+42? 08 01.32
*** Error: Parsing SITELONG FITS keyword: Parsing sexagesimal expression: Parsing 64-bit floating point expression: conversion error:
+83? 13 04.07

The error message shows up as each sub is processed. ImageIntegration continues and completes successfully.

I'm using TheSkyX Camera add-on for image acquisition. My camera is a Canon 6D.

Gordon Hansen

[Juan Conejero]

Hi Gordon,

Looks like the FITS keyword values are incorrect, since '?' is not a valid character here. Can you please upload one of these images (dropbox, etc)?

[Conor]

Hey Juan

I noticed there's no FreeBSD build for this release. Can us BSD guys expect one to come soon? I'm happy to help with any issues!

Thanks

[Juan Conejero]

Hi Conor,

I have tried. I am unable to compile Qt from ports. It simply does not build giving lots of errors. I have virtual FreeBSD machines (VMware) with TrueOS, which is now unsupported so I can't update any packages, which is probably one of the reasons why Qt cannot be built. I have tried with Trident, but it does not work correctly (lots of issues with VMware, unusable). The perspective of installing a pure FreeBSD machine and having to build/install/setup a graphical desktop manually terrifies me. I did it once years ago, but I cannot afford investing time in this task right now. I have too many pending tasks and ongoing projects that I must attend urgently. I am very sorry about this, but nothing is easy with FreeBSD at present.

[Conor]

Hey Juan

That's a pity. I've managed to build all Qt5 ports on vanilla FreeBSD, but I've just noticed that 5.11 is currently in packages. I think the problem will likely be ABI changes between versions (Qt being Qt...), even with success; would it be easy to bundle a Qt distribution with the PI install which is compatible with a specific release e.g. FreeBSD-12.0-RELEASE? That would be stable, at least, for two years. I've seen other proprietary programs do this with complete success e.g. IDA Pro.

In terms of setting up a vanilla desktop install, Xorg has come a long way, so there's no messing around with xorg configuration to get a graphical desktop environment up and running. I'm very keen to get back to processing with PI as my main workhorse, so if I can offer any help, let me know!

[Juan Conejero]

Thank you so much, Conor. I am downloading FreeBSD 12.0-RELEASE right now, and will try to install it on a virtual machine following this tutorial. It seems much easier than when I tried that years ago. I'll let you know how it goes.

[Juan Conejero]

Hi Gordon,

I installed the latest release and now get this error message during ImageIntegration:

*** Error: Parsing SITELAT FITS keyword: Parsing sexagesimal expression: Parsing 64-bit floating point expression: conversion error:
+42? 08 01.32
*** Error: Parsing SITELONG FITS keyword: Parsing sexagesimal expression: Parsing 64-bit floating point expression: conversion error:
+83? 13 04.07

The error message shows up as each sub is processed. ImageIntegration continues and completes successfully.

I'm using TheSkyX Camera add-on for image acquisition. My camera is a Canon 6D.

Gordon Hansen

OK, this is a bug, a *really* stupid mistake I have made in the current version. This is now fixed. I am preparing a new set of updates that will solve this issue on all platforms.

Thank you for reporting this problem. I apologize for this mistake.