Image Processing Presets : Support

Slooh's patented technology includes the real-time processing of the images. But different objects require different types of processing, this guide explains "Processing Presets".

Clubs What Are Processing Presets?

Imagine some of your favourite celestial objects - maybe they include an extremely bright planet such as the gas giant Jupiter, or perhaps you enjoy capturing the Moon in its various phases, or maybe you're a "Deep Sky Object" (DSO) fan - tracking down faint and fuzzy galaxies and nebulae. Or perhaps you chase Near-Earth Asteroids or comets - sometimes fast-moving against the background stars.

Whatever your list of faves, it's likely there is an extensive range in their brightness - some faint asteroids the A-Team NEO Tracking Club capture are as dim as magnitude 21 (the larger the number, the fainter the object). Compare that to dense globular star clusters, or Jupiter, which can be as bright as magnitude -2.6, and Venus a brilliant magnitude -4!

Now think about Slooh's telescopes - huge light-gathering buckets equipped with ultra-sensitive CCD cameras. If we used the same exposure times, binning levels (combining pixels to increase the sensitivity), and other settings for all objects, some would be grossly over-exposed, while others might not be visible at all. So how do we cater to the vast range in the brightness of our targets?

This is where our "Processing Presets" (sometimes called "recipes") come in. Each preset is designed to provide optimum results for certain types of object - not only their brightness but also their apparent size. Presets also determine what real-time processing is applied to the captured images - including how much "stretch" can be applied to bring out faint details, or how much sharpening can be used, plus loads more image processing techniques and methods that are commonly discussed in "The Art of Astro Imaging Club".

The tables below specify the exposure durations, number of exposures, binning levels, as well as the different filters used for each preset and telescope system. You can also download this pdf document that also includes descriptions of each processing preset.

Which Processing Preset to Choose?

If you make a reservation using the "Slooh 1000" method, the optimum Processing Preset is chosen automatically for you. But you may be wondering how to determine which Processing Preset is the best option for your "Catalog" and "Coordinate" missions. Have fun experimenting with different presets for your chosen target.

That may sound like a cop-out, but frankly, there are so many factors such as the object's brightness, how diffuse it is (how its brightness is spread across the image), as well as sky conditions and even the object's altitude when you capture it, that it would be difficult to pin down specific criteria to match the use of each preset. Experimenting is a great way to see for yourself the differences between each preset for your chosen target.

But if you do want a starting point, the preset names will give you a steer... Names such as "Bright Galaxy or Comet", "Globular Cluster" etc. provide a great start point for your preset selection.