PlanetarySystemStacker (PSS)

 PlanetarySystemStacker (PSS)

PlanetarySystemStacker is a free, platform independent (runs on Linux, Windows, and macOS), open-source Python based program used in astrophotography to create high-quality, sharp images of planets, the Sun and Moon from sets of image files, AVI or SER files. It analyses and stacks the best frames to reduce noise and reduces distortions. It ranks frames by quality, aligns them globally, and computes a mean image. The workflow includes functionality for analyzing, editing alignment points (allowing manual adjustment), and "blinking" (reviewing) frames to remove poor quality or corrupted frames before final stacking or to compare a processed image with the original unprocessed, stacked image.

PlanetarySystemStacker is available to download via GitHub.

We chose an alternative way of running PSS. The Windows version runs perfectly in WINE in Linux, which made installation and running as easy as it is in Windows.

PSS is another of those programs that have largely escaped my attention and which merits serious consideration for inclusion in one’s aresenal of image stacking and processing software.

PSS can debayer RAW data which means that data need only be 1/3 of the size of RGB data, if they are colour data.

This is good news for Seestar users who capture RAW AVIs of the Sun and Moon. Also, if RAW SER files are captured, the colour files captured can be captured quicker as well as being only 1/3 the size of an RGB image.

Clicking on any image will give an even closer view

We tested the software on Seestar S50 whole disk RAW lunar AVI and on Lunar and H-alpha surface data. Whole disks are best dealt with like planet data.

Screenshot showing the quality curve in relation to the % of frames selected for stacking

Seestar lunar RAW AVI debayered and the best 50% of frames stacked in PSS

Screenshot showing wavelet processing the stacked image in PSS

Final processed and cropped Seestar S50 lunar image

Stacking a surface image

Screenshot showing the lunar stacked surface image

Screenshot showing Wavelet processing the stacked image in PSS

Animation blinking between the original stacked image and the wavelet sharpened image.

The final processed lunar surface image

Processing H-alpha solar data.

The data were captured as two overlapping panels (RAW SERs) covering the whole solar disk using AstroDMx Capture and a Coronado Solarmax II, 60, BF15 H-alpha scope. Each panel SER was processed in PSS and then stitched together in MS Image Composite editor.

Screenshot showing the quality curve in relation to the % of frames selected for stacking

Screenshot showing frequency distribution local warp sizes of alignment points

PSS has gathered all the information it needs to stack the frames. First, at every AP it identifies the sharpest frames to be used for stacking. Since the seeing is a very local phenomenon, frame sets will be different for different APs. Then, for every AP and every contributing frame the local displacement relative to a reference frame is measured, and the shifted AP patch added to the stacking buffer. Clicking OK completes the process.

Screenshot showing Wavelet processing the stacked image in PSS

The stitched two panel stacked images

The image further processed in Gimp3 and colourised

There is not a huge learning curve for PSS, in fact, there is a totally automatic workflow where no user intervention is required. Our results indicated that PSS can do the jobs of software such as Autostakkert! and waveSharp, all in one program. We intend to study this software more closely, and will include PlanetarySystemStacker in our suite of regularly used image processing programs and in our workflows.

The Dwarf Mini smart telescope

The Dwarf Mini is a relative newcomer to the ranks of smart telescope. It’s immediate claim to fame is that is is the smallest and lightest, and possibly the lowest cost smart telescope on the market.

The only accessory it comes with is a solar filter. This is one of the reasons that it is such a low cost device and it is necessary to provide your own tripod. This is not such a bad thing because most people have a photographic tripod that can be used with the scope in AZ or EQ mode.

I purchased a very cheap tabletop v-logging tripod which proved to be very suitable and even came with a carry case.

The Dwarf Mini in equatorial mode

On a table in the observatory area to give it extra height

Like all smart scopes the Dwarf Mini is controlled by an app on a smartphone or tablet which can be either Android or iOS and displays in Landscape rather than Portrait.

The Dwarf app running on an iPad and displaying the accumulating live-stacked image

Over several nights we tested the scope on a number of objects with a variety of exposures. We found that even with 90s exposures, there were very few dropped frames. It can be seen in the top image of the Dwarf app showing the live-stacked image of C50 and the Rosette nebula with 90s exposures, 80 out of 84, 90s exposures had been stacked. With tracking this good, the appropriate exposure should be chosen for the specific object and which filter is to be used, the Duo-Band or the Astro filter. The Astro filter in the DWARF Mini is a general-purpose filter for reducing light pollution and enhancing stars, reflection nebulae, and galaxies. The Duo-band filter is a narrowband filter that selectively passes Hα (656.3 nm) and OIII (500.7 nm) wavelengths, making it ideal for high-contrast imaging of emission

Table of the imaging tests done to date

Results

Clicking on an image will get an even closer view

M3

M13

M100

Leo Triplet

Monkey-head nebula

Jellyfish nebula

Flaming Star nebula

Markarian's chain

M51

M37

C50-cluster Rosette nebula

M44

Further tests will be done with the Dwarf Mini smart scope but these initial tests have shown it to be a remarkable device with good optics and excellent tracking.

The Veil nebulae and Pickering's Triangle

Data from November 17th and 19th 2025 were used for this image.

The equipment used were an Altair Starwave ASCENT 60ED doublet refractor with field-flattener, a Pegasus FocusCube v2 focuser, an SVBONY 605CC 14 bit OSC camera, an Altair 2” magnetic filter holder version 2 containing an Altair quadband filter.  All were mounted on a Celestron AVX mount.  An SVBONY SV165 guide-scope fitted with a QHY-5II-M guide camera was mounted on the imaging scope. An INDI server was running on a Linux computer indoors. The guide camera was connected by USB to another Linux computer indoors running PHD2 autoguiding software via the INDI server. The mount and the focuser were controlled by AstroDMx Capture via the INDI server.

24 x 5 minute exposure frames of the West Veil nebula and Pickering's triangle and 24 x 5 minute exposure overlapping frames of the East Veil nebula and Pickering's triangle were captured on separate nights along with 5 dark frames, 50 flats and 50 bias frames.

The data were calibrated, debayered, stacked and part processed in PixInsight and further processed using GraXpert, Gimp3, MS Image Composite Editor to stitch the two stacked images together and SetiAstroSuitePro for Texture, Clarity, Cosmic sharpen and denoise.

Click on the image to get a closer view

The Veil nebulae and Pickering's Triangle

With boosted luminance

The SVBONY 605CC 14 bit OSC camera performed very well with this equipment.

The Christmas tree cluster (NGC2264) and associated nebulosity with duo-band filters

Using an Altair Starwave ASCENT 60ED doublet refractor with field-flattener, a Pegasus FocusCube v2 focuser, an Altair Hypercam 533C 14 bit OSC CMOS camera and a PlayerOne Phoenix 2" filter wheel all mounted on a Celestron AVX mount.  An SVBONY SV165 guide-scope fitted with a QHY-5II-M guide camera was mounted on the imaging scope. An INDI server was running on a Linux computer indoors. The guide camera was connected by USB to another Linux computer indoors running PHD2 autoguiding software via the INDI server. The mount and the focuser were controlled by AstroDMx Capture via the INDI server.

One hour's worth of 5 minute exposures of NGC2264 through an Altair HaO3 filter and one hour's worth of 5 minute exposures through an Altair S2O3 filter were captured by AstroDMx Capture running on an Ubuntu mini computer. 

The Data were debayered and stacked in PixInsight, part processed in PixInsight, Gimp3 and SetiAstroSuitePro. The Ha, S2 and O3 channels were separated out from the HaO3 and S2O3 images and used to contruct narrowband palettes. Siril was used for pixelmath procedures.

The Christmas tree cluster (NGC2264) and associated nebulosity

Hubble palette

Classical SHO

HOS (Canada, France, Hawaii telescope palette: CFHT)

OSH

Pixelmath generated palettes

Gendler palette

ForaaX palette

Again, the PlayerOne Phoenix 2" filter wheel was controlled natively by AstroDMx Capture and proved very useful for rapid filter change of the parfocal Altair 2" duo-band filters.

Nicola is getting close to releasing Version 3 of AstroDMx Capture. The complete refactoring of the code-base was started in order to make the software fully compatible with Wayland in Linux. As major distributions such as Fedora and Ubuntu are preparing to stop support for X11, the refactoring has been essential. Nicola also made the decision to switch from wxWidgets to Qt which has become a better platform for the advanced functionality of AstroDMx Capture. When Version 3 is released it will have similar functionality to the latest Version 2. Version 3 will be more efficient, and will have significant additional functionality. It has been necessary for Nicola to maintain two code-bases in order to support the large number of users across all of the supported operating systems. This has, of course, led to some delays, but the project is well on track. Once Version 3 has been released, continued development of Version 2 will stop and additional functionality will be phased in according to Nicola’s roadmap. 

The code refactoring to date exceeds 100 KLOCs (100,000 lines of code). What exactly does 100 KLOCs mean in everyday terms? I will answer this in a way I have done before: The book 'iWoz', the autobiography of Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer, is a fairly typical book in terms of size. It has 30 lines of text per page and 342 pages. Therefore, if the whole of AstroDMx Capture was to be printed book fashion; to hold all of the lines of source code, it would require about 10 printed volumes, each the size of 'iWoz' to contain everything; 10 volumes for the code-base. In addition to the lines of code there is internal documentation (comments) that would require a couple of additional printed books to contain them and they are essential for the understanding of the code and future maintenance.

The Seagull and Rosette nebulae with Altair duo-band filters

The equipment used was an Altair Starwave ASCENT 60ED doublet refractor with field-flattener, a Pegasus FocusCube v2 focuser, an Altair Hypercam 533C 14 bit OSC CMOS camera and a PlayerOne Phoenix 2" filter wheel all mounted on a Celestron AVX GOTO mount. An SVBONY SV165 guide scope with a natively connected QHY-5II-M guide camera was used for PHD2 multistar pulse auto-guiding via an INDI server. The mount, and focuser were controlled by AstroDMx Capture via the INDI server and the Altair Hypercam 533C and the PlayerOne Phoenix 2" filter wheel were controlled natively.

Click on an image to get a closer view

The Equipment

Altair dual-band 2" S2O3 and HaO3 filters were used.

AstroDMx Capture running on an Ubuntu mini computer was used to capture 5-minute exposures through each filter of the Rosette nebula and C50 the Harp cluster as well as of the Seagull nebula IC2177. A total of 1hour 30minutes worth of data: 45 minutes through each filter were captured of each nebula.

Pixinsight was used to stack and calibrate the data. The data were further processed in PixInsight, GraXpert, SetiAstroSuitePro and Gimp3. The Ha, S2 and O3 channels were separated out from the HaO3 and S2O3 images and used to contruct narrowband palettes. Siril was used for pixelmath procedures.

The Seagull nebula IC2177

Hubble palette

HOS (Canada, France, Hawaii telescope palette: CFHT)

OSH

Pixelmath generated palettes

Gendler palette

ForaaX palette

The Rosette nebula and C50 the Harp cluster

Hubble palette

(Canada, France, Hawaii telescope palette: CFHT)

OSH

Pixelmath generated palettes

Gendler palette

ForaaX palette

The PlayerOne Phoenix 2" filter wheel was controlled natively by AstroDMx Capture and proved very useful for rapid filter change of the parfocal Altair 2" filters.