astro.portfolio

// software

Software

The other half of the rig — the programs that drive the mount, point the camera, fix the focus, stack the photons, and shape the final image. 5 in active rotation.

// 01

Acquisition

2 tools
  • KStars / Ekos
    Linux acquisition stack — KStars planetarium + Ekos imaging module + INDI server. Used for end-to-end sessions from the Raspberry Pi 5 at the mount: alignment, polar align, plate solving with astrometry.net / ASTAP, guiding via PHD2-equivalent internal guider, autofocus, scheduler.
    ↗ kstars.kde.org
  • N.I.N.A. (Nighttime Imaging 'N' Astronomy)
    Windows acquisition platform. Sequencer, advanced sequencer, autofocus, framing assistant, plate-solve-on-the-fly, dithering, meridian flip, target scheduling. Primary capture tool when running from the laptop.
    ↗ nighttime-imaging.eu
// 04

Stacking

2 tools
  • DeepSkyStacker (DSS)
    Lightweight Windows stacker, used for DSLR work and quick first-look stacks before bringing data into Siril for serious processing.
    ↗ deepskystacker.free.fr
  • Siril
    Calibration + stacking + linear post-processing (background extraction, photometric color calibration, deconvolution, stretching). Open-source — primary stacking tool for both mono LRGB / narrowband and OSC sessions.
    ↗ siril.org
// 05

Processing

1 tool
  • GIMP
    Final post-processing: curves, levels, selective sharpening, star reduction, noise smoothing, layering of mono / narrowband channels. Reaches the canvas after Siril has produced a stretched, color-calibrated linear-to-non-linear image.
    ↗ www.gimp.org