Our PixInsight processing guides are designed to be easy-to-follow tutorials with images and instructions.
Learn how to process images of the subject step-by-step and achieve a result that you can be proud of!
Processing guides can be accessed with the Processing Bundle or purchased individually.
Lifetime access with free updates
Compatible across platforms (Windows, Mac, Mobile...)
Videos with commentary | Written workflow for each step
Downloadable videos for offline learning
Soon Available in English, French, German, and Spanish*
Star clusters look like they should be easy. You've got bright stars, no nebulosity to wrestle with, no narrowband channels to combine... So it's supposed to be quick and easy processing, right?
In most cases, yes. But after shooting a few clusters, you'll realize they're all much more different than you thought, and some give you challenging problems.
The core of your globular cluster looks like a white blob with no detail. Stars across the field end up oversized and blown. Background gradients creep in, colors look wrong, too green, too yellow, or completely washed out... And open clusters, surrounded by other bright stars, end up looking like a random patch of sky rather than a defined object.
None of these problems are your fault. They're just steps that need to be handled right. And that's what this guide is for.
The Problems You're Facing |
What This Guide Teaches You |
|---|---|
| Globular cluster core is blown out and featureless | Technique for fixing globular cores without losing detail |
| Stars are too large and dominate the frame | Star size reduction and protective masking |
| Colors across the star field look flat, green, or wrong | SPCC color calibration for accurate star colors |
| Background gradients make the image uneven | Background extraction and gradient removal |
| No idea how to handle open and globulars differently | Case studies for open and globular clusters |
| Stacking producing artifacts or uneven results | WBPP stacking walkthrough plus manual stacking fallback |
Don't underestimate how much potential your data has! This comparison shows the same raw cluster data, before any processing, and after following the workflow in this guide. No extra data was captured and no hidden tricks.
Lessons have written walkthroughs and videos with commentary, so you can follow in whatever way suits you best.
How to Navigate this Course
How to Use Subtitles and Change the Course Languages
Come Say Hello! ☕️
Before We Start
Download my Master File
Download my Process Icons
What are Clusters?
Open Clusters
Globular Clusters
How Are Clusters Born?
The Shapley–Sawyer Concentration Class
Why Shoot Star Cluster?
The Challenges of Imaging and Processing Clusters
Common Stacking Issues
[Optional] Stacking Without the Script
Taking a Look at our File and First Stretch
Dynamic Crop
Background Extraction
Star Size Reduction and Detail Enhancements
Noise Reduction
Image Solver
Spectro-Photometric Color Calibration (SPCC)
Stretch to Non-Linear
Green Removal
Fixing a Globular Cluster's Bright Core
Fixing Background Issues
Contrast Curves
Color Curves
Protecting our Cluster and Reducing the Size of the Other Stars
Minor Tweaks
Copy of Fixing Background Issues
Rotation and Image Export
The Final Image
Workflow Summary
Before you go...
The Galactic Course Ultimate Bundle
There is free content everywhere online. So why pay for this guide?
YouTube tutorials show you one image, once. They don't explain which steps change depending on whether you're processing an open cluster or a globular cluster, or what to do when your result doesn't look like theirs. They can't answer all of your questions.
This guide is designed to work as a reference you return to every time you process a new cluster... not just something you watch once and try to remember. Every step is written out alongside the video, so you can follow along at your own pace without wasting half your time rewinding. The process icons let you import the exact same settings into your own PixInsight workspace. And the raw data included means you can follow along with the exact same file and compare your result to mine step by step.
You can't make updates to past videos on YouTube. Here, I can. I do my best to keep all of my courses updated for you with my latest tips and improvements in my personal workflow.
The goal is that after working through two or three clusters with this guide open on the side, you'll have internalized the workflow well enough that you don't need it anymore until a next update. And that's what a good guide does.
Use the WBPP script or individual processes to get your Master files
Process your images exactly the same way I do it!
A Space where Everyone is Welcome
All the Shortcuts in One Place
To stay accessible to all astrophotography-lovers
Learn processing techniques for various types of clusters
Star clusters are a bit different from most deep-sky objects. Most of them are beginner-friendly and can easily be captured in a single night, but some come with challenges.
When processing a nebula, you're usually trying to reveal as much of the faint detail while keeping the noise under control. With galaxies, the focus is on preserving the fine details in the spiral arms. Star clusters are different because your entire frame is made up of just stars. Some clusters are home to thousands of stars packed into a small area, with very bright stars in the center and much fainter ones around the edges.
The two most common issues you'll run into are blown-out cores in globular clusters, and images where there are so many stars that the cluster doesn't stand out from the surrounding field of stars. PixInsight has tools that can deal with these problems, and I'll cover them throughout the guide.
It's important to understand the difference between open clusters and globular clusters because the processing steps I use are slightly different.
Open clusters, like the Pleiades (M45), the Double Cluster (NGC 869 and NGC 884), or the Beehive Cluster (M44), are made up of young stars that formed together from the same cloud of gas and dust. The stars are spread out over a large area, and tend to blend into the surrounding star field. The goal when processing an open cluster is to make the cluster stands out without making the background stars distracting. For objects like the Pleiades, you also need to bring out the faint reflection nebulosity while keeping the bright stars under control.
Globular clusters are very different. Objects like M13, M15, and M22 are home to hundreds of thousands of very old stars packed tightly together. Their core is so bright to begin with that it can easily become overexposed, which will hide all the individual stars in the center. The key is to protect the core if you're trying to bring out the outer regions of the cluster. You can also use a specific process to reveal the individual stars even through the bright center.
The blown-out core is the most common problem when it comes to globular cluster astrophotography. You can capture the beautiful M13 or Omega Centauri, run through your usual processing workflow, and end up with an impressive object that, on second look, lacks details near its core because of how much light it emits.
The guide dedicates an entire lesson specifically to fixing the core of your bright globular cluster.
The Shapley-Sawyer Concentration Class is a scale from I to XII that classifies globular clusters by how densely packed their cores are.
A Class I globular like M75 (extremely concentrated) will have different core brightness compared to a Class X or XI cluster like M55. The more concentrated the cluster, the more careful you need to be with the core. If you know where your target falls on this scale before you start processing, you'll be able to know what to expect before you even start. A lesson covers the classification system and how to understand it.
Instructor Bio:
Our astrophotography has been featured in the following and many more:
Not necessarily. We encourage you to use your own data, but also provide high-quality master files of the Pleiades that we shot from the Nevada desert! You can download these files to follow along and do exactly what we do in the videos with the exact same files. This is great if you'd like to practice before using your own data.
Courses that are purchased individually give you lifetime access with no expiry date. Bundles on the other hand, which include all courses at a low price, have a small yearly renewal fee. More info on that can be found on the bundle pages.
We receive a lot of emails and messages on social media each day from people seeking help with astrophotography. We do our best to reply to everyone, but it is not always possible. We prioritize emails from both Galactic Course members and Patreon.
Yes, you can access the course on any device, which include computers, tablets, and smartphones.
The course lessons are hosted on an online platform, but you will have the option to download the videos and watch them at any time, even when offline!
This guide assumes you have basic knowledge of PixInsight, which is why it is quite compact and goes through each process quickly. In case you are a complte beginner or feel “rusty”, be sure to take a look at our Beginner's Guide to PixInsight which is the perfect starting point before tackling all other guides!
Yes, all videos have closed captioning / subtitles which you can toggle ON or OFF at anytime. You can also play the video at different speeds, for example, at a slower rate of x0.5 or x0.75 if you want! On top of that, subtitles are also available in French, German, and Spanish.
Text content: The text content is written in English, but it is nowadays very simple to auto-translate it to the language of your choice with whatever browser you are using. Example for Google Chrome: Click on the 3 dots near your profile, then click "Translate" and choose a language. Videos: All videos have subtitles in four languages: English, French, German, and Spanish!
Check out our Processing Bundle and other processing guides
This bundle provides access to lessons, videos, and raw data to help you completely master your astrophotography processing skills. Included are dedicated workflows for processing nebulae, galaxies, comets, Milky Way, and more.
$95 first payment, $7.99 / month onwards
The beginner PixInsight workflow is an online guide that teaches you how to process your astrophotography images step by step. It includes written lessons, tutorial videos, custom PixInsight process icons, raw data, forum + Discord access and more!
$36
The Galaxy PixInsight workflow has one page per process so that you can easily follow along as you are processing your own images. Includes the full guide, 21 tutorial videos, our custom process icons and raw data!
$50
The Comet PixInsight processing workflow is specifically designed to help you process comet images easily. It includes a full guide, walkthrough tutorial videos, our custom project files and raw data!
$24
