New Feature : Planetary Live Stacking

[admin]

Hi Peter,

they kind of work with the templates in a modified way at the moment - the two things that I am aiming for are

1) All images/videos from a stack should end up in a single folder, not spread around the place (like live stacking does)

2) The target name should be something like 'Stack of Jupiter' when Jupiter is set as the target in the UI so that you can see what you have got fairly easily.

Additionally, 'Timelapse' is added where appropriate when saving timelapse videos.

The initial naming of the folder that is used to save everything is based on the 'Sequence (still files)' template.

How do you need to rename - maybe understanding the details will help see where it could be altered without changing everything.

cheers,

Robin

[PeterC65]

Hi Robin,

I have the templates set as follows:
Single File (Video): {TargetName}\Captures\{TargetName} {Filter} {Exposure} x{Gain} D{Date} T{Time}
Sequence (Stills): {TargetName}\Snapshots\{TargetName} {Filter} {Exposure} x{Gain} D{Date} T{Time} I{Index:2}
Live Stack (Deep Sky): {TargetName}\Stack@{DateTime}\{TargetName} {Filter} {SubExposure} x{Gain} {StackedFrames}frames
Live Stack (Raw Frames): {TargetName}\Stack@{DateTime}\{TargetName} {Filter} {SubExposure} x{Gain} Frame{Index:4}
Live Stack (Processed): {TargetName}\{TargetName} {Filter} {SubExposure} x{Gain} {StackedFrames}frames D{Date} T{Time}

For both DSOs and Planets I mostly save the live stack with adjustments.

For DSOs the path and filenames are:
Save with Adjustments: M42\M42 Visible 8.0s x12.5 6frames D08_04_2025 T15_31_10
Save as 16 Bit Stack: M42\Stack@08_04_2025T15_31_10\M42 Visible 8.0s x12.5 6frames
Saved Raw Frames: M42\Stack@08_04_2025T15_31_10\M42 Visible 8.0s x12.5 Frame0001 etc

For Planets the path and filenames are:
Save as seen to PNG: Stack of Jupiter\Snapshots\Snapshot at 15_36_53 of Jupiter_00001_Visible
Timelapse: Stack of Jupiter\Snapshots\Timelapse of Jupiter15_38_15_Visible

The issues I have are:
• For Planets I get the folder ‘Stack of Jupiter’ rather than just ‘Jupiter’ as I would for a DSO. Why not make them consistent? If people want ‘Stack of ‘ in front of the target name then they can add that in the templates.
• For Planets the files go in a sub-folder called ‘Snapshots’. I assume this is coming from the Sequence (Stills) template but what is being saved is a processed live stack not a single frame, so surely the right template to use is the Live Stack (Processed) template? I could change the Sequence (Stills) template but then my DSO single frame snapshots would get mixed up with my processed live stack images.
• For Planets the processed live stack filename bears no relation to what I’ve set up in the templates. It starts with ‘Snapshot at …’ rather than the name of the target, the filter selected is at the end of the filename, there is no record of the exposure, gain, and number of frames, and no record of the date. I have to edit all of these things manually, opening the CameraSettings file to find out what the exposure, gain, and number of frames were.
• For Planets the timelapse filename also bears no relation to the templates. Personally I name the timelapse as I would a DSO and store it in a subfolder called ‘Timelapse’ as I do for ‘Captures’ and ‘Stack@...’.

What I would like to see (to be consistent with DSOs) is:
Save as seen to PNG: Jupiter\Jupiter Visible 50ms x100 200frames D08_04_25 T15_36_53
Timelapse: Jupiter\Timelapse\Jupiter Visible 50ms x100 200frames D08_04_25 T15_38_15

The templates feature is really useful for DSO live stacking. Why not use it for Planetary live stacking, with extensions where necessary, such as:
Live Stack (Timelapse): {TargetName}\Timelapse\{TargetName} {Filter} {SubExposure} x{Gain} {StackedFrames}frames D{Date} T{Time}

Peter

[admin]

Hi Peter,

thanks for the full explanation - I will have to consider this and work out if I can address these issues while also meeting the default ideas I outlined above about how the files should be organised.

cheers,

Robin