Microsoft Copilot

[ralp...@gmail.com]

I just tried using Microsoft Copilot to see an workflow.

I told copilot my gear is a celestron rasa 8, Orion telescopes G16 OSC, NINA, Cartes du Ceil, Plate solving. Target M78. Process images in Pixinsight.

The workflow it suggested was very detailed. 

Might be a good tool for beginners using pixinsight.

[ralp...@gmail.com]

Perfect — let’s build you a clean, reliable **multi‑night PixInsight workflow** tailored to your **RASA 8 + OSC G16 + LP filter** setup. This will give you a repeatable process you can run every time the weather finally cooperates.

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# 🌌 Multi‑Night PixInsight Workflow (Optimized for Your Setup)

Your gear is fast, wide, and consistent — which means PixInsight can do a lot of the heavy lifting once you feed it clean, well‑organized data. Here’s a streamlined workflow that matches how you already operate.

# 🗂️ 1. Organize Your Nights  
Keep each night separate:

```
M78/
   Night1/
      Lights/
      Flats/
      Darks/
   Night2/
      Lights/
      Flats/
      Darks/
   Night3/
      Lights/
      Flats/
      Darks/

This makes WBPP’s job easy and keeps calibration clean.


# ⚙️ 2. Run WBPP (WeightedBatchPreprocessing)

### Enable:
- **LocalNormalization**  
- **CosmeticCorrection** (if needed)  
- **Drizzle** (optional but helpful for RASA data)  

### WBPP will:
- Calibrate each night  
- Register all subs  
- Normalize brightness differences  
- Integrate everything into one master light  

This step alone gives you a huge SNR boost from your multi‑night workflow.

# 🌙 3. DynamicCrop  
Trim stacking edges and any drift between nights.

# 🌫️ 4. Background Removal  
Your LP filter helps, but winter targets still get gradients.

### Use:
- **DBE (DynamicBackgroundExtraction)** for precision  
- **ABE** if the field is simple  

For M78’s faint dust, DBE is the safer choice.

# 🎨 5. Color Calibration  
For OSC + LP filter, the best tool is:

- **SPCC (SpectrophotometricColorCalibration)**  

It gives you accurate star colors and corrects any LP filter color shift.

# 🔇 6. Linear Noise Reduction  
Your RASA at f/2 gathers a lot of signal quickly, but also a lot of sky noise.

Use:
- **NoiseXTerminator** (linear mode)  
or  
- **MultiscaleLinearTransform**  

This step makes the stretch much cleaner.


# 📈 7. Stretching  
Two good options:

### **MaskedStretch**  
- Great for nebulae  
- Preserves star color  

### **HistogramTransformation**  
- More control  
- Good for targets with bright cores (e.g., Cone region)

# ⭐ 8. Star Management (Optional but powerful)  
Winter fields are star‑dense. Your RASA makes beautiful stars, but sometimes they overwhelm the nebula.

Use:
- **StarXTerminator** to separate stars and nebula  
- Process each separately  
- Recombine with PixelMath  

This gives you:
- Softer stars  
- More contrast in the nebula  
- Cleaner color

# 🔍 9. Detail Enhancement  
Great tools for your three targets:

### **LocalHistogramEqualization**  
- Enhances texture in the Fox Fur  
- Brings out dust in M78  

### **HDRMultiscaleTransform**  
- Helps with bright cores  
- Useful on the Cone region  

### **CurvesTransformation**  
- Final contrast  
- Color balance  
- Saturation control  


# 🎯 10. Final Touches  
- **SCNR** if green cast appears  
- **Curves** for final color  
- **Slight saturation boost**  
- **NoiseXTerminator (nonlinear)** if needed  


# 🌠 Why This Workflow Fits You Perfectly  
You’ve built a small, automated observatory:

- RASA 8 at f/2  
- OSC G16  
- LP filter  
- Multi‑night integrations  
- NINA automation  
- Plate solving  
- Indoor control  

This workflow extracts every bit of quality from that setup. Once the fog clears, you’ll be able to run this process like clockwork.

If you want, I can also build you:

- A **target‑specific workflow** (M78 vs. Monkey Head vs. Cone)  
- A **framing guide** for your G16 sensor  
- A **season‑by‑season imaging plan** for your west/south sky window  

Just tell me which direction you want to go next.