Imaging software for digital astrophotography

From SkyInsight

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Contents 1 Overview 2 AIP4WIN 3 AstroArt 4 ImagePLUS 5 IRIS 6 MaximDL 7 Paint Shop Pro 8 PhotoShop 9 Stellar Magic Pro

Overview

There are a number of software packages used to process images of celestial objects. The following is a list of the more popular ones (list alphabetically) and some insight as to how well they perform. Some are general graphics packages, while others have been specifically designed for astrophotograhy.

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Features	AIP4WIN	AstroArt	ImagePlus	Nebulosity	IRIS	MaximDL	Paint Shop Pro	PhotoShop CS	Stellar Magic Pro
Cost	$99.95	$179.99	$189	$30	Free	$299 / $399	$60	$599
Vendor	William Bell	MSB Software	Mike Unsold	Stark Labs	astrosurf.org	Diffraction Limited	Corel	Adobe	Laser Diagnostics
Alignment & Stacking	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Drizzle				Yes	Yes		No	No	No
Telescope Control									No
Photometry & Astrometry	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No
4.

AIP4WIN

• Website: http://www.willbell.com/AIP/Index.htm
• Price: $99.95 - includes the Handbook of Astronomical Image Process (683p)
• From the vendor:
• Pros:
• Cons:
• Misc:

AstroArt

• Website: http://www.msb-astroart.com/
• Price: $179.99
• From the vendor:
• Pros:
• Cons:
• Misc:

ImagePLUS

• Website: http://www.mlunsold.com/
• Price: $189.95 + $9.00 S&H USD (includes complete set of video tutorials on 5 CDs)
• From the vendor:
• Pros:
• Cons:
• Misc:

IRIS

An astronomical images processing software

• Website: http://www.astrosurf.org/buil/us/iris/iris.htm
• Price: Free
• From the vendor: Iris is a software written for run under Windows95/98/NT/XP. It offers numerous and powerful functions of image processing in the field of the digital astronomical images. Iris is particularly optimized to exploit the images that come from CCD cameras. Iris can load and save images in the formats FITS, PIC (proprietary format), raw or BMP. Iris can read also the images of the Buil-Thouvenot Atlas, a CD-ROM which contains 4649 images of 6600 objects of the deep-sky.
• Pros:
• Cons:
• Misc:

MaximDL

• Website: Diffraction Limited http://www.cyanogen.com/products/maxim_main.htm
• Price: Full Version - US $399.00 - Download Only; US $449.00 - With Manual and CD-ROM;
• Price: Image Processing only - US $299.00 - Download Only ; US $349.00 - With Manual and CD-ROM
• From the vendor:
• Pros:
• Cons:
• Misc:

Paint Shop Pro

• Website: Corel
• Price: $59
• From the vendor:
• Pros:
• Cons:
• Misc:

PhotoShop

• Website: Adobe
• Price: $599
• From the vendor:
• Pros:
• Cons:
• Misc:

Stellar Magic Pro

• Website: Laser Diagnostics
• Price: $30
• From the vendor: Stellar Magic is an astronomical image processing program for the creation and enhancement of both color and grayscale images. Stellar Magic Pro can manage up to 150 open images and perform batch processing for stacking, debayering, dark frame subtraction, flat-fielding and hot or cold pixel removal. Images may be opened in FITS, BITMAP, TIFF, PNG or JPEG formats. Images may be saved at up to 32 bits per pixel for grayscale, and at up to 96 bits per pixel in color. In FITS format all image processing steps are automatically saved in the file header. The freeware version has many of the same tools, but can only open 10 images at a time and does not use TIFF or PNG formats.
• Pros:
• Cons:
• Misc: