<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Connected telescopes let you photograph the deep sky without having to master every step of astrophotography right away. The instrument handles the pointing, tracking, and stacking of images. As the observation progresses, a galaxy or nebula appears on the phone\u2019s screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, this simplicity does not prevent you from processing the images yourself. To do so, you must first retrieve the files recorded by the telescope and understand what they contain. In fact, the photo available in the app\u2014which is already a stacked image\u2014and the individual exposures do not allow you to perform the same processing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The purpose of this tutorial is to explain How to retrieve raw files from a Seestar, a DWARF from DWARFLAB, or a Vespera<\/strong>, and then prepare them for processing on a computer. Before moving on to the actual steps, I\u2019d like to revisit a distinction that helps clear up a lot of confusion: the difference between a raw image and a stacked image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When a connected telescope photographs a deep-sky object, it takes a series of exposures. Let\u2019s take an example: a session consisting of 300 10-second images results in a cumulative exposure time of 50 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These images are gradually aligned and combined by the telescope. This is what is known as stacking<\/strong>or stacking<\/em>. This process improves the signal-to-noise ratio of the photographed object in the images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From that same session, you can retrieve several types of files.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Raw data refers to the individual measurements taken during the observation. They are also called single poses<\/em>, lights<\/em> or subframes<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In our example, retrieving the raw data means retrieving the 300 individual frames. This allows you to examine them, discard certain images, and perform your own image stacking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the term \u00abraw\u00bb alone does not specify the corrections already applied by the telescope. The behavior of the model used must be taken into account when addressing calibration and processing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The stacked image contains the result of combining the exposures. It allows you to resume processing without having to restack the images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This distinction is important because A FITS file is not necessarily a single raw image<\/strong>. At DWARFLAB, for example, an observation file may contain individual frames and a pre-stacked FITS file. At Vespera, the TIFF export feature allows users to retrieve a stacked image for processing. These differences are described in the documentation for DWARFLAB<\/a> and Vaonis<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In other words, you need to look at the file's purpose, not just its extension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A JPEG is an image that has already been processed for brightness, contrast, and color. It is generally the most convenient file format for sharing the results of an observation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To resume processing with greater flexibility, use the files provided for this purpose instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\nUnderstanding the files recorded by a connected telescope<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Individual brutes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The image that has already been stacked<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The JPEG, Ready to Share<\/h3>\n\n\n\n