Simplified Nebulosity Workflow

Red is where to find the features within the toolbar selection

Green are items within Nebulosity

1. Align & Combine Darks, Bias and Flat Frames

Batch: Alignment / Stacking

Dark1 Bias1 Flat1

Dark2 Bias2 Flat2
Dark3 Bias3 Flat3
… … …
Darkn Biasn Flatn

Master Dark Master Bias Master Flat

1. Output mode: select Save stack

2. Alignment method: Select None(fixed)
3. Stacking Function: if 15 or more files, use one of the standard
deviation functions, otherwise use Average/Default
4. Uncheck Fine-tune star location
5. Hit OK and select your Dark frames.
- Repeat for Bias and Flat frames
6. When done with each set, save file as "Master_Dark",
“Master_Bias”, “Master_Flat”, and whatever other info you
want in the filename (exposure time, ISO, temp, etc)
 2. Pre-Process
Batch: Pre-Process Image Sets

Dark 1: Use the Master Dark created in Alignment/Stacking.

Bias1: Use the Master Bias created in Alignment/Stacking
Flat1: Use the Master Flat created in Alignment/Stacking
Light1: Choose your light frames and Dark1, and Flat 1, (do NOT use Bias again. It is in the Flats)
Note: if you are preprocessing more than one set, put them in Dark2, Bias2, Flat2, Light2, etc.
The example above shows two sets of dark and light frames, one set at 210 sec exposure each, and one
at 240 sec exposure each, and a single set of bias and flat frames.

Select the Stack method for biases, darks, and flats: Avg, or StdDev 1.5, or StdDev 2.0
Hit OK

Set 1:
Light1
Master Dark Preproc:
Light2
1 preproc1
Light3
… preproc2 This will create a set of FIT
Lightn Master Flat Preproc3
Preproc4 files with prefix "preproc" (or
Master Bias preproc5 whatever you typed in above
…
Set 2: for the Prefix)
…
Light1 Master Dark Preprocn
Light2 2
Light3
…
Lightn
 3. Histogram Matching (or Normalize Intensities)
Batch: Match histograms (Or Normalize Intensities)

1. select a "base image". Pick your best image, (or image with lowest Q*) to match to.
2. select all other pre-processed light frames from previous step.

This will create a set of FIT files with prefix "histm-preproc"

Preproc: Matched set:

preproc1 histm_preproc1
preproc2 histm_preproc2
Preproc3 histm_preproc3
preproc1 Preproc4 histm_preproc4
preproc5 histm_preproc5
… …
… …
Preprocn histm_preprocn

*The “Q” can be obtained by using Batch: Grade Image Quality (auto) and choose to create
new copies (yes) or rename (no). The files with the lowest Q are the best files: After doing this
step, (using the copy option), your files will look like this:
 4. Convert Raw to color
Batch: Demosaic + Square RAW color

If using a one shot color camera or DSLR:

1. Select all Histogram matched, pre-processed images and convert to color

("reconstruction")

This will create a set of FIT files with prefix "recon-histm-preproc"

histm_preproc1 recon_histm-preproc1
histm_preproc2 recon_histm-preproc2
histm_preproc3 recon_histm-preproc3
histm_preproc4 recon_histm-preproc4
histm_preproc5 recon_histm-preproc5
… …
… …
histm_preprocn recon_histm-preprocn
 5. Align images
Batch: Alignment / Stacking

1. Output mode: select Save each file (so that later you can use
stack using standard deviation)
2. Alignment method : (Translation + Rotation might be better, if
you have some field rotation)
3. select Fine tune star location.
4. Hit OK and Select pre-processed, histogram matched,
reconstructed FIT files,"recon-histm-preproc..." and choose
one star from each frame to align. (Repeat if 2nd star is
needed for rotation). (Alt-select will align all the files
automatically, if you had good relatively tracking)
This will create many files with the prefix
align_recon_histm_preproc …
6. Stack Images into final, single image
Batch: Alignment / Stacking

1. Output Mode: select Save stack.

2. Alignment method: select None (fixed)
3. Stacking function Choose the method of your choice (if
Average/ Default, you can also check Adaptive scale stack to
16 bits)
4. Hit OK and select all files with prefix "align…".
5. when complete, name the final pe-processed, aligned and
stacked image, and proceed to post-processing
You now have a single pre-processed, aligned image to work
with!
 7. Post-Processing
Image:

1. Crop
2. Power Levels
3. Adjust Color Background (offset)
4. Hue/Saturation
5. Sharpen/blur image - Tighten star edges (Morphological CTRL+T)

Save as a 16 bit TIFF file and then bring into Photoshop for sharpening
masks, color curves, etc.