PIPP

PIPP (Planetary Image Pre-Processor) is an essential tool for astronomy enthusiasts and professional astrophotographers alike. The latest version, 2.5.9, of this Photo & Graphics program, developed by Chris Garry, continues to build upon its strong foundation, delivering powerful Viewers & Editors functionalities to Windows XP, 7, 8, 10, and 11 users.

Designed specifically for the pre-processing of planetary images, PIPP allows the user to efficiently load a sequence of images from supported video file formats, including SER video files. These pre-processed images facilitate smoother stacking with applications like Registax. Users can benefit from a series of robust image editing operations such as cropping, centering the planet, calibrating frames, applying noise/gamma corrections, and even splitting color frames into R, G, and B frames.

The executable file, PIPP.exe, ensures straightforward installation and operation. Previous versions, such as 2.5, 2.4, and 2.3, have laid the groundwork for the improvements seen in the latest release. This program is an excellent addition to any astronomer's toolkit due to its specialized focus on planetary image preprocessing.

For those looking for a reliable image processing tool, the free and user-friendly download is a significant advantage. By optimizing the images before stacking, PIPP can help improve the clarity and quality of the final planetary images.

Pros:

• Extensive support for image editing operations such as cropping and centering
• Capability to handle sequences of images and various video file formats
• Specialized focus on pre-processing planetary images
• Free to download and easy to use

Cons:

• Limited to planetary image preprocessing and may not suit general photo editing needs
• Specific to Windows operating systems, with no versions available for other platforms

It is not possible to confirm if there is a free download for this software available on the developer's website. According to the results of the Google Safe Browsing check, the developer's site is safe. Despite this, we recommend checking the downloaded files with any free antivirus software.

You may want to check out more software, such as Pippi Story or Fierce Tales: The Dog's Heart Collector's Edition, which might be related to PIPP.