DeepSkyStacker is geared toward astrophotographers and provides a simplified option for pre-processing images.

This app will be helpful after a night photography session; you can give all your pictures (light frames, dark frames, offset/bias frames, flat frames) to DeepSkyStacker. From there, you can view the results and start post-processing your images.

This app includes almost everything needed for image processing. It consists of the ability to auto-detect stars and auto-determination of darks, flats, and offsets to be applied to the pictures using ISO speed and exposure time.

DeepSkyStacker Features:

Automatic registration of a set of pictures

Automatic detection of stars using all the picture area

Preview of registered stars

Subpixel registration

Automatic derotation

Automatic creation and use of offsets, flats, and dark frames

Subpixel alignment and stacking

Supported bitmaps formats: 8, 16, and 32-bit color and monochrome TIFF files, 8, 16, 32, and 64-bit color and monochrome FITS files, JPEG, BMP, PNG

Native use of RAW files from most DSLRs (CR2, NEF, CRW, DNG ...) without using an intermediate file format (TIFF or other).

Darks, Flats, and Offsets computed from and applied directly to the RAW picture before any interpolation.

Stacking methods: average, median, kappa-sigma clipping, auto adaptive weighted average, entropy weighted average, maximum

Preview of all pictures (including RAW)

Simple post-processing with RGB levels, luminance curve, and saturation adjustments.

Save the resulting picture to 16 or 32-bit TIFF or FITS files with or without adjustments applied.

Simple and intuitive user interface

Optimal memory usage: the same amount of memory is required to register and stack 10 or 500 pictures.

Optimal use of all available processors (hyperthreaded, multiprocessors, duo and quad-core processors)

DeepSkyStacker Advanced Features:

Automatic determination of Darks, Flats, and Offsets to be applied to the pictures using ISO speed and exposure time

Several methods to optimize the processing of the RAW files by using the best of the Bayer matrix without interpolating the missing pixels

Option to automatically detect hot pixels during the registering process

Options to automatically detect and remove hot pixels and bad columns during the stacking process

Options to detect and clean hot and cold pixels remaining after calibration

Automatic flat calibration to equalize luminosity differences

Automatic calibration of pictures background for each channel

Automatic Dark Optimization

Automatic use of a bicubic, bilinear, or bisquared alignment transformation depending on the number of stars

Creation of File Lists to speed up loading of often used files (darks, flats, offsets/bias)

Comet Stacking

Manual edition of stars and comet positions

Drizzle option (x2 or x3) during the stacking process

Possible use of B&W 16-bit FITS files like RAW files (automatic use of a Bayer Filter Pattern)

Use of File Groups to simplify multiple nights on the same object file management

Options to create a calibrated and registered file for each light frame

Debloom

Cosmetic options to detect and clean the remaining hot/cold pixels from calibrated images

Feature to create Star Masks

Feature to batch multiple stacks

Command-Line arguments

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