News
The latest in Mac astronomy — software releases, app announcements, version updates, and notable developments in the astrophotography world. When a new Mac-compatible app hits the scene, an existing tool gets a major update, or something shifts in the ecosystem, we cover it here. Short-form coverage designed to keep you current.
Meridian 1.1: Half-Second Plate Solving and Annotated Images
Skyshot solves a 60-megapixel final in about half a second on my Mac, with no account or internet connection, and Annotations label every cataloged object in the result.
Strata 2.0: Mono Filter Combine, Telescope Blur Correction, and One Sharpening Chain
Strata 2.0 replaces Derotate with Combine, which turns a mono filter set into one RGB or LRGB image, and adds Correct Telescope Blur, which deconvolves with your own telescope's PSF.
Laminar 1.9.2: A Collimation Aid for Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescopes
Laminar 1.9.2 adds a Collimation Aid that measures an SCT's collimation from a defocused star and says which secondary screw to turn. 1.9.3 follows with two crash fixes.
Laminar 1.9.1: Planetary Auto Focus, ADC Assist, and SHG Mode
Laminar 1.9.1 adds planetary Auto Focus, ADC Assist for setting an atmospheric dispersion corrector by measurement, and a focus score for spectroheliographs.
Laminar 1.9.0 Adds Filter Wheels, Focusers, and Automated LRGB Sequences
Laminar 1.9.0 adds direct filter wheel and focuser control through INDIGO, plus sequences that automate LRGB captures.
Two Free Planning Calculators: Deep-Sky Field of View and Planetary Capture
A deep-sky framing calculator that overlays your sensor on real survey imagery and counts your guide stars, and a planetary calculator that places any planet and its moons on your chip for any date and time, then finds your frame-rate ceiling. Both free, both in the browser, no account.
Strata 1.0 is out
Strata 1.0 is on the Mac App Store. The third stacking engine I wrote, six months of beta, 367 pieces of feedback, and the testers who shaped every part of it.
Ephemeris 2.0 is out: from last night to this season
Ephemeris now keeps a library of every night your rig has recorded, tells you what it notices across them, and always says where each observation came from.
Meridian 1.0 Is on the Mac App Store, and the Beta Is Closing
Meridian, the native macOS deep sky archive manager, is now on the Mac App Store. Fourteen rounds of beta, 93 bug reports, and the features that exist because testers sent me email.
Introducing Transit: Tonight's Astronomical Events, in Your Mac's Menu Bar
Transit is a new Mac-native menu bar app that watches for astronomical events and notifies you with enough lead time to actually get outside. Here's why I built it.
Strata Build 14: Solar Tone Rebuilt, and Honesty About What's Next
Build 14 of Strata, the Mac-native planetary and solar processor in the Mac Observatory Suite, is on TestFlight. The headline change is a complete
Laminar 1.2.5: White Balance Comes to the Inspector, Plus Celestron and UVC Camera Support
Laminar 1.2.5 brings camera-side white balance directly into the Inspector, graduates the ToupTek OEM family and SVBONY out of Beta, and adds initial support for Celestron webcam-style astronomy cameras alongside generic UVC video devices including iPhone via Continuity Camera.