How to configure and execute a stacking
1. Configure stacking
Once you have imported the images and defined the sky mask the next step is to perform the stacking configuration, which is done in the "Stack" section that you can find at the top of the right tools panel.
By default, Nebulb always selects the "Full Processing" preset for stacking.
And what does this mean?
It means that Nebulb, during stacking, will perform all possible tasks: star alignment for noise and light pollution reduction, star trail stacking, star trail smoothing, flying object detection for detecting meteors and removing planes/satellites from star trails, among other things.
This is great in general, because from one image you get several types of images, but it is also true that it is much more time consuming and, in addition, there are probably cases in which it does not make sense to apply all types of processing.
For example, if you are stacking a set of images captured for 10 min, it probably doesn't make much sense to process star trails as well, since the star trails in only 10 min will be too short.
In addition, if you are not capturing on a date when there is an active meteor shower, then surely you can also do without the detection of flying objects (which is the most time-consuming processing in Nebulb).
Therefore, in Nebulb you can find several presets so that you can select the one that best suits the particular image you want to process.
Thus, when you select a preset, the options related to the type of image you want to process are automatically checked, without having to decide which of them apply and which do not.
That said, you can then check or uncheck by hand any of the available options, since presets are an assistance, not a limitation.
2. Execute stacking
Once you have configured the stacking and saved the project (you must save the project to be able to continue) you are ready to run the stacking by simply clicking on the following button:
When you do so, a confirmation message will be displayed, which you must accept to continue.
2.1. Temporary working folder
Finally, when you accept the above message Nebulb will ask you to specify a temporary working folder.
But what is this temporary working folder?
Nebulb needs a folder in which to write and read the temporary files it generates during stacking.
You do not have to do anything with the contents of this folder and, in fact, when the stacking is finished and you save the project again, all temporary files saved by Nebulb will be deleted automatically.
So, the only thing you have to do here is to select a folder on your hard disk where Nebulb can read and write temporary files.
ATTENTION: For Nebulb's performance to be as good as possible it is very important that the hard disk on which you select the temporary working folder is fast (both in writing and reading), so it is recommended that this hard disk is an SSD or M2 and has a good read/write speed. Therefore, it is a good practice to create a specific temporary working folder for Nebulb on a fast hard disk and, that way, every time you have to stack any project you simply select that same temporary working folder and that's it.
2.2. Stacking progress
As soon as you have selected the temporary working folder Nebulb will definitely start stacking.
ATTENTION: The stacking process (depending on the preset you have selected, the number of images to be stacked, their resolution and the performance of your computer) may take more or less time (from a few minutes to many hours). However, regardless of the time it takes, this process is 100% automatic and does not require any human interaction.
To give you an idea of how long it will take Nebulb to execute the stacking, an estimate of the stacking progress is shown in the lower status bar (on the right):
In the image above you can see that three progress bars appear because stacking in Nebulb is done in 3 independent phases (preprocessing, processing and stacking), so each of them has a time estimate of its own. However, by far, the intermediate phase (image processing) is always the one that takes the longest time because it is where most of the work is done.
Related Articles
Pause stacking
At the top of the "Stack" module are all the buttons that control the execution of stacking in Nebulb and, in particular, the button shown below is used to pause the stacking in progress: Below are the different states in which you can find this ...Manage stacking execution
In the "Stack" module (located in the right tool panel) there are all the necessary options to configure and execute the stacking, that is to say, this is where the user indicates the tasks to be performed by Nebulb during stacking, as well as ...Execute stacking of all imported images
At the top of the "Stack" module are all the buttons that control the execution of stacking in Nebulb and, specifically, the button below is used to start the stacking process of all imported images: While the stacking process is running, this button ...Reset stacking
At the top of the "Stack" module are all the buttons that control the execution of stacking in Nebulb and, in particular, the button below is used to reset (delete) the last stacking performed: Thus, in case you want to completely reset the stacking ...Refining the stacking
At the top of the "Stack" module are all the buttons that control the execution of stacking in Nebulb and, in particular, the button below is used to refine the stacking. This button is by default disabled and grayed out (until the stacking is ...