PixInsight: Creating a Luminance Mask

A view from above Kofa
Photo by Chris Hanrahan

I had big plans to do some real writing this weekend, but we had four days of rain in Arizona.  For me, this meant a trip out to the desert to play in the rain.  With temperatures 40 degrees (Fahrenheit) below normal the day was spent hiking in the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge - my favorite place on Earth.  

As a result, not much actual writing got done.  And when I say "not much", I mean no writing got done.  Instead, for the uninitiated, here's a step by step process on creating a luminance mask in PixInsight.  As you'll see - it's really easy.  And in PixInsight, this is a technique you'll use in various ways over and over and over.  Enjoy!!

Creating a Luminance Mask