AstroToaster Download


AstroToaster

I wrote this application to allow me to Observe DSOs using my DSLR,  I enjoy watching the image develop out of darkness as the light is collected. ( AstroToaster is a newer version of the "Observing ToolBar for DSS", it is now a free standing application and does not need DSS to be runing )

AstroToaster  is a freeware application for obtaining semi-live views of astronomical images  using a DSLR,  CCD  (or any camera that can produce static astronomical images)

AstroToaster uses the  Deep Sky Stacker (DSS) Processing Engine.  It accomplish  what DSSLive does, but using the full capabiblities of DeepSkyStacker, and has a Viewer with easy to use color and light enhancement tools.

        - The camera drops image files into a 'monitoring' folder, and they are automatically processed and continuously stacked and updated into
           a viewer window
        -  You can use darks, flats etc.
        -  Color adjustments, levels, curves are re-applied automatically to the refreshed image in the viewer
        -  It performs a complete align and re-stacking of the images instead of a running average
        -  It uses DeepSkyStacker's engine and settings, to perform the processing
        -  You can edit and tweak, stacked images from earlier in the session, while acquiring and processing a new image 


DeepSkyStacker is a freeware program developed and maintained by Luc Coiffier, which you can obtain from his website http://deepskystacker.free.fr
It allows you to add data from many faint exposures, through a process know as aligning and stacking to produce a much sharper and intense image.

Once you  learn how to use DSS and get it working nicely for your camera, and setup, there is no reason you cannot obtain the same results while using it for live viewing. In the viewer the images can be adjusted to a quality similar to what can be accomplished in a brief Photoshop session.

The screen shots below are of the raw Filelist processing page, with the colored toolbar on top, The image on the right also shows the drop down viewer and color adjustment tool.  The Toolbar collects images from the camera for DSS to process, and displays the results in an adjustable viewer.

I have found this to be a fun application for astronomy,  you can download  the current version 2.04, or 2.05beta) it from  the Links below.

 
   




version 2.04



Help

FAQ


version 2.05 (beta)



Version 2.05c (beta)  last updated 07/02/2016
Added Fits SuperPixels checkbox      
 Added Hot pixel  detection/removal tool      
Added Master Dark Calibration builder (also Master Flats, Offsets ..)
Added Mouse Wheel functionality (Zoom and fine adjustments for color-adj sliders )
Changed: Re-opening sessions, and  added some file list management/viewing abilities     
Fixed: Can now process input files with 4 char extensions ( .TIFF,  .FITS )    
Fixed: Other bugs, including installation, and stacking problems

Version 2.04   last updated 01/12/2015
Added Sharpen to Color Adjustment (windows Vista, 7,8,10 Only)
Added Pan to move image in viewer (Left Mouse+Hold to pan )
Added Hide/UnHide stack to FileList Context menu
Fixed Changing folders in settings, No Longer requires a restart

Version 2.03 (beta)  last updated 08/20/2015
Added Rotate, Flip to image viewer
Added Dark Frame Factor to stacking options
Fixed Color Adjustment Saturate,Tint, and Resize artifacts
Fixed Color Adjustment Slider  behavior
Several other minor enhancements, bug and stability fixes
Special thanks to Don,  (NSN Channel: HeavensDeclareGodsGlory) for testing, ideas,  
   and getting it working with the Atik414 and Mallincam Xtreme).

Version 2.02   last updated 4/07/2015
Added Image Text/Status overlay  
Fixed some issues with gradient corrections and calibration files.

Version 2.01  last updated 3/13/2015
Added Mallincam Universe raw type MCURAW ( full sized 16bit files .. see FAQ)
( Special thanks to Mark Roberts for his help  )
Several bug fixes and other enhancements

Version 2.00  1/15/2015 (AstroToaster)
Now free standing application no longer need to have DSS running ( easier and less confusing to use )
Numerous bug fixes, and enhancements.
New FileList is better suited for live viewing
AutoStarThreshold automatically adjusts star threshold for optimal stacking.
Added sky gradient correction
Correctly handles monochrome images.

Version 1.04 5/27/2014 (Observing Toolbar for DSS)
Fixed issue where the DSS Star Detection Threshold was not implemented correctly. This was preventing dimmer images from stacking, and some brighter images would process too slowly.

Version 1.03  5/24/2014
Fixed some sync issues between toolbar and dss
Fixed some fits issues
Added viewer clip/zoom to "Rectangle" control
Added ability view previous group results from session
Added optional stacking frame limit

version 1.02   5/12/2014
Fixed problems processing tif files
Fixed some initialization issues