If you're curious about the gear I used to catch the images of the Comet, check out my previous video here where I go over my gear and a high level overview of my stacking process: ruclips.net/video/-ApH5fxkWBI/видео.html&lc
Thank you 😊 Someone else mentioned that Siril is coming out with a way to connect Starnet++ with the software so that you can create a star mask and merge it back in later without ever having to leave Siril. That should be fun. Clear skies!
That's super awesome! I'm definitely going to try that out. I just went to their Gitlab repo to look at some of the latest history, I'm excited for it to be released but will find some time to install the dev version and give it a go. Have you tried it out? If you have, how do you like it?
Great video. Mouse clicking is really loud though ! Maybe move the mic away from it :) Out of interest, I understand why we need to stack the comet, but why is important to have a stack of star only files instead of just using a single star only file? Is that purely to improve signal to noise ratio?
Thank you! I've moved onto a new audio recording setup last Summer so videos after August 2023 should sound better 😊 And yes, you are correct. Stacking the stars only will improve noise to signal. There's nothing wrong with using just a single star image. It's also a good idea to stack if you have an interesting background. I know this comet passed by a few galaxies and star clusters so those in the background all look cool. Let me know if you have any questions.
@@Naztronomy Actually, I was wondering how long you had been using Siril. I've never heard of it before, but it seems a lot faster than APP, and if it saves a session, that's a huge win because APP doesn't seem to support saving sessions.
@@crw4096ytu I think since 2016 or 2017. I was looking for a DSS alternative back then, I don't remember why. Then I ran into Siril. The learning curve was much steeper than DSS but slowly grew to like it. APP is my primary stacking/preprocessing software because it's so much easier to just pick my files, make small adjustments, click integrate, and walk away. APP is also better at Mosaics. APP's color calibration is harder to use compared to Siril but I've gotten used to it. Siril's photometric color calibration (similar to Pixinsight) is fairly new and I haven't had a chance to compare that with APP's manual calibration. And I believe APP is also working on a photometric one to automate that. I agree that Siril is a lot faster and the session saving is amazing! I heard that APP is also working on a way to save a session and I'm looking forward to it. Siril came out with something called Sirilic (siril.org/docs/sirilic/) and it makes some of the earlier steps much easier. And Siril is also more accessible to people because it's free. It's hard for me to pick which one I like more. I usually recommend Siril to people because it's free and when they come back saying it's too hard, I tell them to use APP's trial version and see if they like it.
Great tutorial Naz. Thanks for putting this together. I've not tried Siril at all; you whizzed through quite quickly so I'll have to rewatch, and maybe slow a few bits down! I currently use APP for stacking, which you also mentioned. They all have pros and cons, but overall d'you think Siril has any advantages over APP. Thanks and clear skies
Thank you, Kevin 😊 If you get stuck or have questions about the process, let me know, more than happy to help. I think I love APP and Siril the same. One great thing that I like about Siril over APP is that you can do a background extraction on the individual frames before you stack. So when you stack, the gradient in the background is almost non-existent. And if there's any, you can do another extraction and it's much cleaner. APP makes you wait until you're done stacking. Siril also has the ability to let you export your frames as an animation. Background extract on each individual frame also makes the animation look much cleaner. I created a follow up video on that here: ruclips.net/video/9SwuYHJXc0U/видео.html The gist of it is that you register the frames, stretch the frames ( you can stretch one and apply it to the rest of the sequence), and Export the sequence as avi, mp4, gif, etc. and that saves me a ton. APP doesn't let you do a batch stretch and certainly no way to export the sequence. One thing that I'll really like about Siril when they release the next version, is that it'll come with integrated Starnet++ so you can create a star mask, do your processing, and pull them back in without ever having to leave the App. If I were to make another video then, I'll only have to cover Siril (assuming it works the way I think it will). Siril's calibration steps can be a pain but once you get used to it, it's not so bad. I probably spend maybe just a couple of minutes clicking around and I can get calibrated lights easily. BUT Siril also has a second software called Sirilic which automates all of the calibration process. Just select your files and press start. Similar to what APP does. I didn't show that here because that would introduce a new program to the mix and I think it's helpful to know the manual steps first so that when you automate it, you know what's happening and where. I'm planning on doing a Sirilic video as well soon. In the end, I can get the exact same results out of Siril and APP. I may do a video on comet processing in APP as well just to show my process there. The starnet++ and Photoshop options will be the same. The biggest advantage of siril is that it's free and more accessible, especially to young people who don't have the money to buy APP. I usually recommend people at least do the trial of APP but it's still 30 days free vs forever free. I bought APP last year and 90% of my processing has been done there because it's just easy to select all your frames then just integrate. I'm not a fan of APP's color calibration though. Siril has photometric color calibration like PI and I think APP is also working on something like that but they are a bit behind there. Long wall of text for a simple question 😁 Clear skies!
@@Naztronomy thanks Naz for your very thorough reply. Youve persuaded me to definitely give Siril a try. The calibration steps did look a bit cumbersome, but probably cos in used to APP, but if the other Siril software simplifies this, then that sounds great. I've subscribed to your channel and will defo check out your other videos. Thanks again!
Hi, whenever you do the photometric color calibration how do you setup your mount to write in the metadata the RA and DEC ? Because I can't get those data
Hey! That is a good question. I use something called "Astroberry" to take my images. Astroberry uses Ekos/INDI to help me image and control my mount. It automatically assigns the RA and Dec values to each image it takes based on where my camera is pointing. The software handles it all for me and sends it to my .fits file. I didn't have that luxury when I imaged on a DSLR. And if you're in a similar situation where the data isn't readily available, you can try to do a plate solve in Siril. Here's a really clunky screenshot for you but I marked all the steps: i.imgur.com/M5iX9wr.png 1. Click the little WCS button at the bottom right. At this point, if you have a clear shot of the sky, Siril should highlight some stuff. 2. Some known objects should appear on the screen. In my image, it found two NGC items (5881 and 5807). Then open up photometric color calibration again 3. Input one of the objects found in the search box 4. Find 5. Select one of the items from the list and the RA and Dec should fill in It's good to search for an object at the center of your image but if it can't automatically find one, just being close enough is good enough. You'll notice that the RA/Dec values in the screenshot and what I show in the video are just slightly off. I would have shown this part in the video if I ended up keeping the color calibrated file but didn't want to spend too long on it. I might do a video on plate solving later. I can also recommend taking one of your images and uploading it to nova.astrometry.net. This site will also plate solve for you and give you the RA/Dec of the exact center of your picture. Another great option is ASTAP which is another stacking software and it has an excellent plate solver. ASTAP plate solver is better but Siril stacking is wayyyy better. Hope this helps! Clear skies!
Oh I tried using the platesolving on Siril like you said but the WCS button is not enable but I got my coordinate by using using astrometry found it in less than 2min. Also thank you for bringing me the Astroberry solution, I never heard of it and I find myself having a raspeberry sleeping on my desk might give it a try.
@@g.captainspace8026If WCS is disabled, try going into your preferences and look for the "Astrometry" setting. Make sure everything in checked and the "World Coordinate System" has something in it. That may not fix it, I couldn't disable mine by unchecking everything but I'm curious why yours is. Strange! Glad Astrometry.net was useful! It's an awesome resource. Regarding astroberry: Pretty much the same start as me. I had a Pi 4 lying around from work I did on my other channel so I decided to give it a try and it's been great. Most of my imaging is automated. I have an overview of Astroberry as well: ruclips.net/video/eNjQCJBwpJI/видео.html - that video is a bit less organized than this Siril one. And I'm working on more specific Astroberry videos (next video is how to auto guide with it) with better organization. Good luck if you give it a go, let me know if you have any questions, and clear skies!
What an excellent tutorial this is. You are clear at the start what process you are going to follow then deliver it clearly and concisely, never repeating yourself. Subscribed 😊 I’m just learning how to process my images of the comet and have downloaded Starnet++, I have tried it with the test file which works fine but when I use my comet image the program eats the comet as well as the stars, leaving me with a black image only. Do you have any thoughts what might be wrong? Thanks in advance
Thank you, Linda 😊 you just put a big smile on my face! As for Starnet++, when you save the image file as a tif, make sure it's 16 bit and the compression is set to "none" - they both are 'select' options when you export. Starnet has issues with compressed tif files. If that doesn't work for you, let me know and I may ask you to send me your Tif for me to try and troubleshoot.
Thank you for the advice, it helped resolve the issue. In my case I had used DSS to align on the stars which produced a 32 bit image, I then took this in to photoshop and changed image from 32 bit to 16 bit but it also gave some other options before saving (colour related) but I didn’t see any option regarding compression. So, this time I took the image in to Lightroom and exported it and there was a box to select zero compression and Starnet++ then processed it properly 👍🏻. Thank you also for indicating your willingness to help again if I was unsuccessful, that is very much appreciated 😊
That means that the file is already debayered. You can uncheck it and move on to see what happens. What kind of original image files are you working with? .cr2 or fits or something else?
@@astronomyjustforfun4595 If they're already stacked and you're getting that error then the image is already debayered. If it's already stacked, what are you preprocessing?
What kind of camera are you using? I'm not familiar with that error. Best thread I can find on that is here: discuss.pixls.us/t/handling-fujifilm-x-trans-auto-focus-pixels/19047
What if I can't do the colour calibration since I have black and white photos? Also It seems that I can't stack due to not having "date information in the images"?
When you say black and white, do you mean you took the picture with a monochrome camera or a color camera that saved as black and white? I'm not sure if I've ever seen that error before about the dates. Does siril throw a specific error? If so, can you share it? If you look at the files properties in your windows, does it not have any date info?
@@Naztronomy For the first question i guess that my camera saved it as black and white since it is a color camera (first time using it so i might overlooked something unfortunately). For the second question i must first correct myself, since i said that the problem appeared in the stacking menu, while it happened in the registration menu instead. The error's window says "No timestamp memorized in the file: Siril can't do the registration without informations about the date in the file". I have checked in the pictures i've taken and in fact there is the date saved in the file, so i dont know what's wrong.
@@simonegabellini6382 What format were the files saved in? .fits or another format? As for the registration issue, that's very strange. I can't even find another reference to that error in Google. Would you be able to upload some of your files so that I can try to download and give it a try myself? Google drive or a dropbox link would help.
Why are you going so fast? Your mouse movements, double clicking, talking are like lightning fast. It doesn't make for an enjoyable video to watch. I hope your other videos are not like this. I couldn't last more than two minutes watching this video. If so, it may explain why you don't have many followers.
Thanks for your feedback. There needs to be a balance between being informative, length of a video, and speed of the content that fits most people. Based on the other feedback I've gotten, the speed fits most people. Sorry it was too fast for you but feel free to slow down, pause, and go back if you need to. I also linked to the official Siril tutorial that I based this video on in the description so that you can also follow the text at your own pace. Clear skies!
@@Naztronomy There are so many top Astro RUclips people who go at a comfortable pace. They balance the information, content and pace that's geared more towards teaching. That's what these videos are for, right? Maybe that's why they have thousands of followers? I just don't understand why you feel the need to fly through it when others don't. What's the rush? Good luck with your channel.
If you're curious about the gear I used to catch the images of the Comet, check out my previous video here where I go over my gear and a high level overview of my stacking process: ruclips.net/video/-ApH5fxkWBI/видео.html&lc
Thanks for your very clear and detailed tutorial !
Thank you for your explanation. It helped me so much for my first comet C2022.E3 ZTF.
Thank you, Lionel! Really glad to hear it!
Very nice video to follow step by step. I have to learn to use mask to finish my job !
Thank you 😊 Someone else mentioned that Siril is coming out with a way to connect Starnet++ with the software so that you can create a star mask and merge it back in later without ever having to leave Siril. That should be fun.
Clear skies!
That's, what I was looking for. I am using GIMP instead of PS, but the process is similar. I got best results :-) Thank you!
Awesome! Glad the information is transferrable between the two. Clear skies!
nice summary. siril 1.1.1 (developer version) includes starnet as an option and can create the starmask version and merge all in siril.
That's super awesome! I'm definitely going to try that out. I just went to their Gitlab repo to look at some of the latest history, I'm excited for it to be released but will find some time to install the dev version and give it a go.
Have you tried it out? If you have, how do you like it?
Superb. Wil try and let u know
Great video. Mouse clicking is really loud though ! Maybe move the mic away from it :)
Out of interest, I understand why we need to stack the comet, but why is important to have a stack of star only files instead of just using a single star only file? Is that purely to improve signal to noise ratio?
Thank you! I've moved onto a new audio recording setup last Summer so videos after August 2023 should sound better 😊
And yes, you are correct. Stacking the stars only will improve noise to signal. There's nothing wrong with using just a single star image.
It's also a good idea to stack if you have an interesting background. I know this comet passed by a few galaxies and star clusters so those in the background all look cool.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Nice work, Naz!
Thank you, Charles 😊
@@Naztronomy Actually, I was wondering how long you had been using Siril. I've never heard of it before, but it seems a lot faster than APP, and if it saves a session, that's a huge win because APP doesn't seem to support saving sessions.
@@crw4096ytu I think since 2016 or 2017. I was looking for a DSS alternative back then, I don't remember why. Then I ran into Siril. The learning curve was much steeper than DSS but slowly grew to like it.
APP is my primary stacking/preprocessing software because it's so much easier to just pick my files, make small adjustments, click integrate, and walk away. APP is also better at Mosaics. APP's color calibration is harder to use compared to Siril but I've gotten used to it. Siril's photometric color calibration (similar to Pixinsight) is fairly new and I haven't had a chance to compare that with APP's manual calibration. And I believe APP is also working on a photometric one to automate that.
I agree that Siril is a lot faster and the session saving is amazing! I heard that APP is also working on a way to save a session and I'm looking forward to it.
Siril came out with something called Sirilic (siril.org/docs/sirilic/) and it makes some of the earlier steps much easier. And Siril is also more accessible to people because it's free.
It's hard for me to pick which one I like more. I usually recommend Siril to people because it's free and when they come back saying it's too hard, I tell them to use APP's trial version and see if they like it.
Thx ,🙏Naz !
Great tutorial Naz, would love to have a go if you upload the data.
Thanks, Ian! I will find a place to upload the files in the coming days and let you know.
@@Naztronomy Thanks Naz, looking forward to it!
@@iancollinge9491 Here's a link, let me know if this works: app.box.com/s/e26qdshtzl1xdh20oo7w82wt24fozwqk
Clear skies!
Thanks Naz! No problems downloading, can’t wait to get stuck into it! Clear skies!
Great tutorial Naz. Thanks for putting this together. I've not tried Siril at all; you whizzed through quite quickly so I'll have to rewatch, and maybe slow a few bits down! I currently use APP for stacking, which you also mentioned.
They all have pros and cons, but overall d'you think Siril has any advantages over APP.
Thanks and clear skies
Thank you, Kevin 😊
If you get stuck or have questions about the process, let me know, more than happy to help.
I think I love APP and Siril the same. One great thing that I like about Siril over APP is that you can do a background extraction on the individual frames before you stack. So when you stack, the gradient in the background is almost non-existent. And if there's any, you can do another extraction and it's much cleaner. APP makes you wait until you're done stacking.
Siril also has the ability to let you export your frames as an animation. Background extract on each individual frame also makes the animation look much cleaner. I created a follow up video on that here: ruclips.net/video/9SwuYHJXc0U/видео.html
The gist of it is that you register the frames, stretch the frames ( you can stretch one and apply it to the rest of the sequence), and Export the sequence as avi, mp4, gif, etc. and that saves me a ton. APP doesn't let you do a batch stretch and certainly no way to export the sequence.
One thing that I'll really like about Siril when they release the next version, is that it'll come with integrated Starnet++ so you can create a star mask, do your processing, and pull them back in without ever having to leave the App. If I were to make another video then, I'll only have to cover Siril (assuming it works the way I think it will).
Siril's calibration steps can be a pain but once you get used to it, it's not so bad. I probably spend maybe just a couple of minutes clicking around and I can get calibrated lights easily. BUT Siril also has a second software called Sirilic which automates all of the calibration process. Just select your files and press start. Similar to what APP does. I didn't show that here because that would introduce a new program to the mix and I think it's helpful to know the manual steps first so that when you automate it, you know what's happening and where.
I'm planning on doing a Sirilic video as well soon.
In the end, I can get the exact same results out of Siril and APP. I may do a video on comet processing in APP as well just to show my process there. The starnet++ and Photoshop options will be the same.
The biggest advantage of siril is that it's free and more accessible, especially to young people who don't have the money to buy APP. I usually recommend people at least do the trial of APP but it's still 30 days free vs forever free.
I bought APP last year and 90% of my processing has been done there because it's just easy to select all your frames then just integrate. I'm not a fan of APP's color calibration though. Siril has photometric color calibration like PI and I think APP is also working on something like that but they are a bit behind there.
Long wall of text for a simple question 😁
Clear skies!
@@Naztronomy thanks Naz for your very thorough reply.
Youve persuaded me to definitely give Siril a try. The calibration steps did look a bit cumbersome, but probably cos in used to APP, but if the other Siril software simplifies this, then that sounds great.
I've subscribed to your channel and will defo check out your other videos.
Thanks again!
Hi, whenever you do the photometric color calibration how do you setup your mount to write in the metadata the RA and DEC ? Because I can't get those data
Hey! That is a good question. I use something called "Astroberry" to take my images. Astroberry uses Ekos/INDI to help me image and control my mount. It automatically assigns the RA and Dec values to each image it takes based on where my camera is pointing. The software handles it all for me and sends it to my .fits file.
I didn't have that luxury when I imaged on a DSLR. And if you're in a similar situation where the data isn't readily available, you can try to do a plate solve in Siril. Here's a really clunky screenshot for you but I marked all the steps: i.imgur.com/M5iX9wr.png
1. Click the little WCS button at the bottom right. At this point, if you have a clear shot of the sky, Siril should highlight some stuff.
2. Some known objects should appear on the screen. In my image, it found two NGC items (5881 and 5807). Then open up photometric color calibration again
3. Input one of the objects found in the search box
4. Find
5. Select one of the items from the list and the RA and Dec should fill in
It's good to search for an object at the center of your image but if it can't automatically find one, just being close enough is good enough. You'll notice that the RA/Dec values in the screenshot and what I show in the video are just slightly off.
I would have shown this part in the video if I ended up keeping the color calibrated file but didn't want to spend too long on it.
I might do a video on plate solving later. I can also recommend taking one of your images and uploading it to nova.astrometry.net. This site will also plate solve for you and give you the RA/Dec of the exact center of your picture. Another great option is ASTAP which is another stacking software and it has an excellent plate solver. ASTAP plate solver is better but Siril stacking is wayyyy better.
Hope this helps! Clear skies!
Oh I tried using the platesolving on Siril like you said but the WCS button is not enable but I got my coordinate by using using astrometry found it in less than 2min. Also thank you for bringing me the Astroberry solution, I never heard of it and I find myself having a raspeberry sleeping on my desk might give it a try.
@@g.captainspace8026If WCS is disabled, try going into your preferences and look for the "Astrometry" setting. Make sure everything in checked and the "World Coordinate System" has something in it. That may not fix it, I couldn't disable mine by unchecking everything but I'm curious why yours is. Strange!
Glad Astrometry.net was useful! It's an awesome resource.
Regarding astroberry: Pretty much the same start as me. I had a Pi 4 lying around from work I did on my other channel so I decided to give it a try and it's been great. Most of my imaging is automated.
I have an overview of Astroberry as well: ruclips.net/video/eNjQCJBwpJI/видео.html - that video is a bit less organized than this Siril one.
And I'm working on more specific Astroberry videos (next video is how to auto guide with it) with better organization.
Good luck if you give it a go, let me know if you have any questions, and clear skies!
@@Naztronomy Great tip! I didn't think about doing that. I manually entered the coords. using planetarium software. This is much easier!
Glad the tip helped :)
What an excellent tutorial this is. You are clear at the start what process you are going to follow then deliver it clearly and concisely, never repeating yourself. Subscribed 😊
I’m just learning how to process my images of the comet and have downloaded Starnet++, I have tried it with the test file which works fine but when I use my comet image the program eats the comet as well as the stars, leaving me with a black image only. Do you have any thoughts what might be wrong? Thanks in advance
Thank you, Linda 😊 you just put a big smile on my face!
As for Starnet++, when you save the image file as a tif, make sure it's 16 bit and the compression is set to "none" - they both are 'select' options when you export. Starnet has issues with compressed tif files.
If that doesn't work for you, let me know and I may ask you to send me your Tif for me to try and troubleshoot.
Thank you for the advice, it helped resolve the issue. In my case I had used DSS to align on the stars which produced a 32 bit image, I then took this in to photoshop and changed image from 32 bit to 16 bit but it also gave some other options before saving (colour related) but I didn’t see any option regarding compression. So, this time I took the image in to Lightroom and exported it and there was a box to select zero compression and Starnet++ then processed it properly 👍🏻. Thank you also for indicating your willingness to help again if I was unsuccessful, that is very much appreciated 😊
@@lindadavison1418 Awesome! Glad I was able to steer you in the right direction 😊Clear skies!
I keep getting the error when pre processing it can't debayer on image with more than one channel.
That means that the file is already debayered. You can uncheck it and move on to see what happens.
What kind of original image files are you working with? .cr2 or fits or something else?
@@Naztronomy fits files that are stacked.
@@astronomyjustforfun4595 If they're already stacked and you're getting that error then the image is already debayered. If it's already stacked, what are you preprocessing?
What about the error fix trans unknown camera two....which it apparently knows.
What kind of camera are you using? I'm not familiar with that error. Best thread I can find on that is here: discuss.pixls.us/t/handling-fujifilm-x-trans-auto-focus-pixels/19047
@@Naztronomy I am using a zwo120mc.
What if I can't do the colour calibration since I have black and white photos?
Also It seems that I can't stack due to not having "date information in the images"?
When you say black and white, do you mean you took the picture with a monochrome camera or a color camera that saved as black and white?
I'm not sure if I've ever seen that error before about the dates. Does siril throw a specific error? If so, can you share it? If you look at the files properties in your windows, does it not have any date info?
@@Naztronomy For the first question i guess that my camera saved it as black and white since it is a color camera (first time using it so i might overlooked something unfortunately). For the second question i must first correct myself, since i said that the problem appeared in the stacking menu, while it happened in the registration menu instead. The error's window says "No timestamp memorized in the file: Siril can't do the registration without informations about the date in the file". I have checked in the pictures i've taken and in fact there is the date saved in the file, so i dont know what's wrong.
The error appears when trying to select object 1 or object 2
@@simonegabellini6382 What format were the files saved in? .fits or another format?
As for the registration issue, that's very strange. I can't even find another reference to that error in Google. Would you be able to upload some of your files so that I can try to download and give it a try myself? Google drive or a dropbox link would help.
@@Naztronomy files were originally .png, i'll try to load them on drive or dropbox.
Why are you going so fast? Your mouse movements, double clicking, talking are like lightning fast. It doesn't make for an enjoyable video to watch. I hope your other videos are not like this. I couldn't last more than two minutes watching this video. If so, it may explain why you don't have many followers.
Thanks for your feedback. There needs to be a balance between being informative, length of a video, and speed of the content that fits most people. Based on the other feedback I've gotten, the speed fits most people. Sorry it was too fast for you but feel free to slow down, pause, and go back if you need to. I also linked to the official Siril tutorial that I based this video on in the description so that you can also follow the text at your own pace.
Clear skies!
@@Naztronomy There are so many top Astro RUclips people who go at a comfortable pace. They balance the information, content and pace that's geared more towards teaching. That's what these videos are for, right? Maybe that's why they have thousands of followers? I just don't understand why you feel the need to fly through it when others don't. What's the rush? Good luck with your channel.