Introduction and hello!

[ammcdavid]

Already this forum is paying dividends and I haven't even used PI yet......I had been considering subscribing to API for a year or more......if your process flow is pretty detailed.....that would be worth it right there.

Hi David(?)

AstroPhotoInsight is a great magazine.

I've found the articles by Sander and they do indeed give a workflow. The articles exist in the following issues

Jun 2009 Vol 5, issue 3 Pg 12-20 Processing by Example Part 1
Aug 2009 Vol 5, issue 4. Pg 13-21 Processing by Example Part 2
Feb 2010 Vol 6, issue 1 Pg 15-23 Processing by Example Part 3

As a newbie or 4 days on PI I found the articles very interesting and informative with lots of labelled screenshots - thoroughly recommended

HTH

Nigel

Nigel,
Sorry......name is Andy....I should have at least signed off properly. 

Anyhow, I will get signed up for API right away so I can peruse their back issues.  I do have some of their older issues and they are VERY informative.  Since I am an engineer by education and trade, I tend to want to "read the manual" on any new skill/knowledge I try to gain.  I typically don't just "try stuff" and learn by a multitude of failures to painstakingly gain a bit of skill.  Once I get the concept down and the overall "feel" of a piece of software, then I will start an experimentation phase.  In short, I don't want to re-invent the wheel and get frustrated at the front end.....I want some early successes then progress to more difficult tasks.  From this forum and the various other avenues for support, that shouldn't be a problem.  However, I do wish this entire body of knowledge was contained in a single digital manual or better yet, a DVD. (did I say I really like my manuals?  )

Andy

Andy

[nemecl]

I may be too old (76) for this. Even the forum seems to be kind of complicated. Anyway, I installed the trial version on my new not-the-best I5 computer (still three times faster than the next best one) and I am trying to figure out how to use the program. I am more than impressed what it CAN do (the processing examples are very impressive) but I am starting simple.

I wonder whether some kind of 'rank beginners' corner can be established. So far, I have been using for my DSLR image ImagesPlus program that is not very sophisticated compared Pixinsight but very easy to use. Some three levels below what PT can do.

Well, here what I tried to do and got stuck immediately. I converted, calibrated, aligned and stacked some 30 images of Pacman Nebula and created an ImagePlus format .fit file. The file can be loaded in PT - three high contrast 'gray' images come up. What do they represent? The RGB channels? What to do with them? I have no clue.

Before I give up (there is a lot of things I cannot do at 76 I could do at 36, needless to say), I would like to get some gentle general guidance.

It may make no sense for the gurus here to descend to the depth of ignorance of folks like me - if so, tell me that privately and/or with the legendary Spanish courtesy.

[Juan Conejero]

Hi,

Welcome to PixInsight Forum, and thank you for your kind words about PixInsight.

and created an ImagePlus format .fit file. The file can be loaded in PT - three high contrast 'gray' images come up. What do they represent? The RGB channels? What to do with them?

Indeed, they are the individual channels of a RGB color image. Unfortunately ImagesPlus stores color images in FITS files in a particular way that is different from what PixInsight expects. IP's color FITS files are understood as multiple-image files by PixInsight; that's why you get three separate grayscale images when you open one of them.

The workaround is easy though:

- Open the ChannelCombination tool (Process > ChannelManagement > ChannelCombination).

- By default the RGB space is selected in ChannelCombination, so you don't need to change it. Just select the correct R, G and B images in their respective slots (click the blue triangular buttons to select the images from a list).

- Click the blue circular button at the bottom left corner of the ChannelCombination tool (Apply Global), or equivalently  press F6. This will generate a new RGB color image.

Hope this helps.

[nemecl]

I will try what you suggest. There are FIT file and there are FIT files. I do not believe that a generally accepted standard exist - I looked into that some time ago, not recently.

Well, this may get me over the first hurdle. More to come...

Thanks for a prompt reply.
LN

[nemecl]

Yes, it worked. Having a 'standard' RGB image, I have to figure out what to do with it and in what sequence.

I wrote about 'beginners' corner'. Maybe someone will find little time to put together a tutorial for complete beginners not familiar with the terms and processes available.

Like Level 0 - do this
      Level 1 - add to 0 something else

and so forth. It may not be feasible, I reaize. BTW, any suggestion about books that would help? I have probably obsolete AIP4WIN 2.0 and the corresponding program that I used only briefly before switching to ImagesPlus. It was published 2006 but the material may be older than that.

Is there something better in English?

[Nocturnal]

I think HAIP is an excellent book to read and study. Things don't change -that- rapidly. Photons still generate electrons and the ADC still adds noise.