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Old 10-04-2017, 07:56 AM
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sil (Steve)
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Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Canberra
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With the video you've captured I think you can get plenty more just with processing. Here's what I suggest:

download PIPP and use that to split out the video into still BMP files centering the target in the frames. You can also try outputting say first 1,000 ordered by quality. This I call pre-aligning, it will align jupiter to account for drift and some seeing wobble.

Now throw these into registax and run with No Alignment and little or no quality rejection if you did that with PIPP already. once stacked on I think the last screen near top left is a button something like "Realign with processed stack". Click on this and it should take you back to the start and has marked alignment points, now run through with this until you have your stack again. I find even with horrid seeing wobbles Registax produces a very well aligned result.
Next the wavelets. These are confusing at first and still are to me, but you can think of them mathematically doubling each time from lowest (top of the list in registax) to highest layer value. First layer acts on the scales of 1 pixel which is both detail and noise typically in astrophotography. Next layer is double so acts on scales of 2 pixels, again detail and some noise. Next layer sizes of 4 pixels, then 8 then 16 etc. So the highest layer typically won't improve anything but will create those ringing artifacts you've got in your images. I think of wavelets as a contrast/sharpening operation so as I adjust a slider or value I am looking for contrast changes, but too much and you get processing artifacts like in a heavily over sharpened image. Each layer multiplies up through the ones above it. So starting with layer 1 first, If you know what a bell curve is, I adjust a little here and bump up noise reduction for it a tiny bit too (experiment and you'll see a lot change for small movements). Usually I don't expect to see much or any change in the image with this step, I'm hoping small features are being enhanced without enhancing the noise here. Next I adjust layer 2 a bit further and you should start seeing contrast changes keep a tiny noise reduction on here too. Layer 3 is about where I am doing the most adjusting, no noise reduction, Layer back down a bit with no noise reduction. So like a bell curve the peak is around layer 3 with values either side dropping off. As you adjust you are looking for two things, one is contrast changes which gives you details and ringing artifacts, these are in your processed images where a light and dark edge forms on contrast boundaries and these you do NOT want. So its a balancing act. Do lots of experimenting with the sliders and values boxes and push each value to see where the ringing artifacts appear badly and keep your values way below this. As I said the layers multiply upwards so if you dont back off enough the artifacts are there mathematically and will effect how far you can push each layer up. Also if you adjust sliders randomly or start with the highest layer first you'll be forever changing sliders and its a frustrating exercise. don't worry if you see little or no changes when adjust the first two wavelets layers (in any program) but DO be aware that noise mostly lives in layers 1 and 2 and detail in 2 and 3 so being aggressive can give you noise as well as signal.
None of these mathematical descriptions hold true i dont think, but in practice its an easy way to understand what I'm working on and what to look for and expect.

In PixInsight I still get about the same increase in detail in my images with wavelets as registax gives and what AutoStakert does too, so it seems like its a good approach and my data is limiting me now.

Once you get to layer 3 Jupiter and saturn will be sharpening up and detail coming through and maybe close moons are starting to brighten out of the surrounding blackness. Good luck and be patient with it. I never got seeing as great as in your video and am pretty sure there will be much you can reveal following the above steps.
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