SkyColor : The Vaonis in-app astro image editing studio

SkyColor Studio requirements.

SkyColor Studio is available exclusively with Vespera.
(Vespera I, Passengers, II, II X_Edition, and Pro).

Minimum device OS version : iOS 16 or Android 11

Minimum Singularity app version required:

• iOS: 1.37.14
• Android: 1.37.24

Since all image processing is performed directly within the Singularity app on your smartphone or tablet, your device must have at least 4 GB of free RAM.

SkyColor Studio availability

SkyColor Studio works directly with the RAW data captured by your Vespera smart telescope. As a result, it is only available for observation projects where RAW data is still accessible.

This includes:

• Ongoing observations
  SkyColor Studio is available directly from the observation screen, allowing you to customize the current result before saving or sharing it or to save it as a SkyColor project for further editing later.
• SkyColor Projects
  If you prefer to edit your observation later, even when you’re not connected to your Vespera, you can save it as a SkyColor project. Your project will then be accessible from the Profile screen, next to your image gallery.
  To optimize app storage, SkyColor projects are automatically deleted after 30 days.
• Multi-Night projects
  SkyColor Studio is available for all active Multi-Night captures, as long as the project can still be resumed. From there, you can save the result as a SkyColor project for later editing.
• Plan My Night results
  SkyColor Studio can be accessed from the Plan My Night results screen for all images acquired during the most recent plan. From there, you can save the result as a SkyColor project for later editing.

To unlock advanced editing features, Vespera Pro users must have BalENS enabled.

Limitations:

SkyColor is not available for lunar and solar observation as well as live observations that does not involve stacking  (planets, stars, manual targets with object type set to star).

SkyColor Studio is not available for images stored in your Singularity Cloud Library, as these images are saved in JPEG format and no longer contain RAW data.

How SkyColor works

• When you open SkyColor Studio, Singularity retrieves the RAW data of the currently active image directly from your Vespera smart telescope. All edits are applied to the specific version of the image that is downloaded at the moment SkyColor Studio is launched.
• SkyColor Studiodoes not update the data live while the observation is still running. As a result, if you want to edit a more recent state of the same observation, simply exit SkyColor Studio and reopen it to load the latest RAW data.
• While you remain in SkyColor Studio, all adjustments are applied in a non-destructive way. You can freely tweak, refine, or revert any setting at any time and compare with the original image.
• Before leaving SkyColor Studio, you must save, share, or export your edited image. The result is not saved automatically.
• SkyColor Studio never alters the original RAW data (TIFF and FITS files). These files remain untouched, allowing you to continue using them later for advanced processing with external astrophotography software.

Step by Step guide to using SkyColor Studio

1. From the observation screen, open the menu (bottom left) and select SkyColor.
   From the SkyColor Project list (see below), tap the edit button of a project.
   From a Multi-Night project or Plan My Night, tap an image thumbnail to open it, then open the bottom-left menu and choose SkyColor.
2. Once the RAW data has been downloaded from Vespera, you can choose to start editing immediately or save your image as a SkyColor Project to edit later.
3. When editing, navigate through the Reveal (Vespera Pro only), Improve, and Adjust tabs to access the various editing tools.
4. While editing, you can zoom and pan the image to closely inspect how your adjustments affect the result. Tap on the image to temporarily display the original version and compare it with your edits.
5. When you’re satisfied, tap the Save icon in the top-right corner (or save button at the bottom)  to export, save, or share the final image. When saving, you can choose to apply a caption overlay to the image that includes details such as the object name, telescope model, and acquisition time.
6. If the observation you’re editing hasn’t already been saved as a SkyColor project, you can do so by tapping the folder icon at the top of the screen.

SkyColor Projects

Available from the Profile tab, SkyColor Project lets you store images along with their RAW data and editing settings, so you can continue working on them later, even when you’re not connected to Vespera.

SkyColor projects are stored for up to 30 days. After that period, they are automatically deleted. The remaining time before expiration is displayed next to each project in the library. Be sure to edit, save, or share your final image before the project expires.
If you’re finished editing, you can manually delete a project at any time by tapping the trash can icon.

Important:
A SkyColor project captures the state of your observation at the moment it is created. The original image data is not updated afterward.
If you continue an observation or resume a Multi-Night project after creating a SkyColor project, any newly captured data will not be added to the existing SkyColor Project. To work with the new data, you will need to create a new SkyColor Project.

SkyColor editing tools reference

Reveal tab

These tools are available exclusively on Vespera Pro and require BalENS to be enabled.
They control how the image data is stretched, that is, how the deep-sky object is revealed relative to the sky background.

Black level
Adjusts how dark the sky background appears.

Highlights
Controls the intensity of the brightest areas of the image.

Strength
Sets the overall stretching intensity, affecting global contrast between the sky background, deep-sky objects, and stars.

Improve Tab

Denoise
Use this tool to reduce image noise and produce a cleaner, smoother result.
Tap the icon to activate the filter and preview its effect on a selected area of the image. You can move the preview box to evaluate different regions.
Tap Next to apply the filter to the entire image and proceed to the next tab.
You can later fine-tune the denoise intensity in the Adjust tab.

Starless
This tool removes stars from the image (in combination with a slight denoise), leaving only the deep-sky object. You can later restore and fine-tune the star intensity in the Adjust tab.
Tap the Starless icon to instantly preview the effect on a sample area. Move the preview box to see how different parts of the image are affected.
Tap Next to apply the filter to the full image and proceed to the next tab.

Adjust Tab

Stars / Denoise
Available only after applying the Starless or denoise filter.
Use this control to bring the stars back while adjusting their intensity, (allowing the deep-sky object to stand out more clearly) or to fine-tune the strength of the denoise filter.

Vibrance
Gently increases or decreases color intensity, preserving subtle tones.

Saturation
Strongly increases or decreases overall color intensity for a more dramatic look.

Contrast
Enhances the difference between shadows and highlights, adding depth to the image.

Palette
Choose from three predefined palettes to apply a specific color mapping to the image.

FAQ

• Is SkyColor Studio available with Stellina?
  No. SkyColor Studio is available exclusively for the Vespera range.
• Do I need to be connected to Vespera to run SkyColor Studio?
  To edit the result of an ongoing observation, a Multi-Night project, or a Plan My Night session, you must be connected to Vespera.However, if you’ve saved your observation as a SkyColor Project, you can edit it at any time, even when you’re not connected to the instrument.

• Why can’t I use SkyColor Studio with images saved in the cloud library?
  SkyColor Studio requires access to RAW data to operate. Images stored in the cloud library are exported as JPEG files, which no longer contain the RAW data needed for image processing.

• Why doesn’t SkyColor Studio appear in the Observation screen, Multi-Night projects, or Plan My Night images?
  Make sure your control device meets the minimum requirements (iOS 16 or Android 11, with at least 4 GB of free RAM) and that the Singularity app is up to date.
• My smartphone manufacturer indicates that my device has 4 GB of RAM, but I can’t access SkyColor Studio.
  Some smartphones are advertised as having 4 GB of RAM, but in practice actually offer less usable memory. This available memory may be insufficient to run SkyColor Studio.
• Why isn’t SkyColor Studio available for some of my Multi-Night projects?
  After updating Singularity, you must resume each Multi-Night project at least once for SkyColor Studio to become available for that project.
• Do I need an internet connection to run SkyColor Studio?
  No. SkyColor Studio runs entirely on your smartphone or tablet once the RAW data has been retrieved from your Vespera. There is no need to upload images to a server or rely on remote processing.