Another step toward the full 1.0 release — RC2 tunes what RC1 introduced rather than
adding new tools, focusing on stability, workflow clarity and stacking reliability.
Improvements
- Improved Stacking and external-tool handoff — Autopilot and the Stacking Queue preview the engine, files and settings before Siril or PixInsight launches, and both engines together now produce one clean final image
- Improved Stability across long runs — a broad pass over scanning, stacking, plate solving, cancellation and shutdown, plus updated 3D renders throughout the Backfocus Manager
The first release candidate, opening the final validation phase before the full 1.0
launch — and the biggest step yet.
New Features
- New Plate solver, Inspect Loupe and Object Detector, built in — native WCS with SIP distortion at 18.6% lower median solve time than ASTAP, 1:1 pixel-peeping with live FWHM, HFR and PSF, and object annotation cross-matched against LEDA, SDSS, MCG and 2MASX
- New One-click stacking, mobile companions and filter lifecycle tools — QA-sorted, filter-balanced stacking into PixInsight AutoIntegrate or Siril, plus iOS and Android companion apps, Image Overlay Export and an expanded Backfocus Manager
Dial in your imaging train — Beta 6 introduces the Backfocus Manager in the
Equipment tab, so you can plan and verify sensor backfocus spacing before you ever
head out under the stars.
New Features
- New Backfocus Manager (Equipment) — a visual workbench for your imaging train. Build your setup from a vendor inventory of cameras, off-axis guiders, and filter wheels, see the spacing drawn to scale, and get the spacer combination needed to hit each sensor's required backfocus distance.
Major performance release — Imaging Intelligence features, PixInsight AutoIntegrate
stacking with RC Astro tool detection, tier-driven stacking advisor, and native XISF support.
New Features
- New PixInsight AutoIntegrate stacking — one-click auto-stack directly from Autopilot with RC Astro tool detection (BlurXTerminator, StarXTerminator, NoiseXTerminator) and built-in default settings
- New Tier-driven Stacking Advisor — 3 presets (Default Stack, Deep Stack, Sharp Focus) with filter balancing for canonical compositions (LRGB, SHO, HOO, RGB)
- New Performance Insights — hero insights with equipment rankings, correlation-based analysis, session intelligence, and filter-aware recommendations in the QA tab
- New Gallery Archive Overview — sidebar with Quick Archive Stats, Sky Coverage, Equipment Usage, Best Nights, Most Revisited Targets, and Seasonal Seeing
- New Native XISF support — built-in XISF encoder/decoder with no external dependencies
- New Companion Monitor v2.1 — full dashboard refresh with app launcher and real-time QA pipeline monitoring
- New QE Curve filter overlays — visualize filter bandpass overlays on sensor quantum efficiency curves with SPCC sensor QE import
- New Expanded frame type classification — 70+ IMAGETYP variants including SNAPSHOT, FOCUS, PREVIEW, STD, and all major software conventions