So I finally got a new computer (Mac M1 Mini, what a cool machine!) and was able to update all of my Astrophotography processing programs. Those include the latest versions of: Deep Sky Stacker, Windows 11, GIMP, Parallels 17 and Startools. I use Deep Sky Stacker in a virtual machine (Parallels) running Windows 11 to calibrate and stack the individual camera frames. This has usually been a slow process in the past but the new Mac makes it quick and almost painless. I then save the result as a FITS file and import it into Startools for processing on the Mac OS (insert name of California locale here). Startools has amazing new features that vault it to the leading edge of astro software, particularly its advanced noise reduction and features that prevent loss of data from sloppy editing.
Those of you that have been waiting for a new entry from me have had a long wait. Now I have been able to work the data I capture and even go back and re-work older data and breathe new life into pics. Here are a few examples of old stuff along with a pic from this year (2021).
The Pelican Nebula
Lagoon and Trifid Nebulae
The rest of the files are still FITS format so I must convert them to post.
