Usage

A good star mask is essential for good results. Even though the Shrink module is much more gentle on structural detail, ideally, only stars are treated and not any structural detail.

The 'AutoMask' button launches a popup with access to two quick ways of creating a star mask. This same popup is shown upon first launch of the module. The generated masks tend to catch all major stars with very few false positives. If you also wish to include fainter, small stars in the mask, then more sophisticated techniques are recommended to avoid including other detail.

Finally, if your object is mostly obscured by a busy star field, for example in a widefied, then also consider using the Super Structure module to enhance the super structures in your image and push back the busy star field. Combining both the Shrink module's output and the Super Structure module's output can greatly transform a busy looking image in positive ways.