Pixinsight LE
Anna Ambeau
What is Pixinsight LE and How to Use It for Astrophotography
Pixinsight LE is a freeware application that was developed by Pleiades Astrophoto for image processing and analysis of astronomical data. It was discontinued in 2009, but it still offers some useful features and tools for astrophotographers who want to enhance their images of the night sky.
In this article, we will explain what Pixinsight LE is, how to install and uninstall it, and how to use some of its basic functions for astrophotography. We will also compare it with the current version of Pixinsight, which is a commercial software that has more advanced capabilities and support.
What is Pixinsight LE?
Pixinsight LE stands for Pixinsight Limited Edition. It was a free version of Pixinsight that was available for download from the official website[^1^]. It included quite complete documentation in HTML format, which still provides interesting and rigorous information not found elsewhere[^1^].
Pixinsight LE was designed to work with FITS files, which are the standard format for astronomical data. It had several modules for image calibration, registration, integration, enhancement, and analysis. It also had some tools for noise reduction, color correction, histogram manipulation, and star alignment.
Pixinsight LE was compatible with Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X operating systems. It required a minimum of 256 MB of RAM and 100 MB of disk space. It also supported multiple processors and threads for faster performance.
How to Install and Uninstall Pixinsight LE
To install Pixinsight LE on your computer, you need to download the installer file from the official website[^1^]. The file size is about 40 MB. Then, you need to follow these steps:
- Run the installer file and accept the license agreement.
- Choose the destination folder where you want to install Pixinsight LE.
- Choose the components that you want to install. You can select all or some of them.
- Click the Install button and wait for the installation to finish.
- Click the Finish button and launch Pixinsight LE from the Start menu or the desktop shortcut.
To uninstall Pixinsight LE from your system, you need to follow these steps:
- Choose Start > Settings > Control Panel.
- Double-click Add/Remove Programs.
- Select "PixInsight LE 1.0" from the list of programs that can be removed.
- Click the Remove button.
- Follow the onscreen instructions, if any, to uninstall the application[^2^].
How to Use Pixinsight LE for Astrophotography
Pixinsight LE has a simple and intuitive user interface that consists of a main window, a menu bar, a toolbar, a status bar, and a workspace. The workspace can contain multiple image windows that can be arranged in different ways. You can also open multiple workspaces at the same time.
To use Pixinsight LE for astrophotography, you need to follow these basic steps:
- Open your FITS files by choosing File > Open or by dragging and dropping them into the workspace.
- Calibrate your images by applying dark frames, flat frames, and bias frames. You can do this by choosing Process > Calibration > Image Calibration or by using the ImageCalibration tool from the toolbar.
- Register your images by aligning them to a reference image. You can do this by choosing Process > Registration > Image Registration or by using the ImageRegistration tool from the toolbar.
- Integrate your images by combining them into a single image. You can do this by choosing Process > Integration > Image Integration or by using the ImageIntegration tool from the toolbar.
- Enhance your image by applying various adjustments and filters. You can do this by choosing Process > Enhancement or by using the tools from the toolbar. Some of the most common ones are HistogramTransformation, CurvesTransformation, ColorCalibration, ACDNR (Adaptive Contrast-Driven Noise d8cbe59d7d