Experience unmatched Photometric mastery with Phoranso

[Photometric Reduction and Analysis Software]

Phoranso streamlines your Photometric analysis process and unfolds your light curves while you're observing

Crafted by Tonny Vanmunster, author of the Peranso period analysis software, Phoranso embodies 30 years of photometric expertise. With over 2 million high-precision Exoplanet and Variable Star observations to his name, Tonny has pioneered a groundbreaking solution, elevating Phoranso to unrivaled heights as the definitive choice for Photometric Reduction and Analysis Software in the market.

We are delighted to announce the release of Phoranso 1.0

 

To get started with Phoranso, including access to a trial version, please visit our download page.

Phoranso is distributed as shareware.

Note that registration is required to activate Phoranso for use on your personal computer

Contact us at tonny.vanmunster@gmail.com for more information.

Discover the Powerful Advantages of Phoranso: Unleashing Unparalleled Capabilities

Download

Purchase

Registration of Phoranso turns your trial version into a paid regular version, removing the limitation that your photometric reports contain a random selection only of your observations.

The registration process is simple: upon completion, you'll receive a Registration Key by email to enter once into Phoranso, granting usage for an unlimited duration.

Your Registration Key is valid for the specific computer and operating system you are using. It will not allow you to run Phoranso on any other PC. If you want to run Phoranso on more than one computer, you will have to purchase an additional Registration Key for each PC, at a discounted rate (see table below).

It's important to note that your Registration Key is valid for one year, entitling you to free software updates and technical support during this period. After expiration, while you can still use Phoranso, you won't receive updates or support unless you renew your Registration Key.

Renewal is available at any time, even after expiration, detailed instructions can be found in the User Guide. We recommend annual renewal to ensure access to the latest Phoranso updates and technical assistance.

INTRODUCTORY PRICE

Payment methods

• We support several payment methods (PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, American Express) as well as some country specific methods. Click the Pay Now button in the above table to proceed to the Phoranso order page.

• You can also wire the EUR money to our CBABelgium.com bank account:

     IBAN: BE71 0637 0541 6569

     BIC: GKCCBEBB

     Name: CBABelgium.com, Tonny Vanmunster, BELGIUM

* Quoted prices are VAT exclusive for business customers, and VAT inclusive for private persons. Invoice provided upon simple request

Changelog

Phoranso 1.0.5.8

 

• Resolved an issue where not all VSX variable stars within a given field of view were being retrieved
• Improved the ability of ASTAP to solve FITS files containing lots of hot pixels
• Added the option Skip Image solving if solving info is present in image in the Photometry window. This feature allows Phoranso to reuse existing solving information from the FITS header of an image, bypassing the need to solve the image
• The Image Math -> Standard window now includes a new image processing operator Remove hot pixels. This operator removes hot pixels from the selected FITS image. The Radius parameter specifies the area around each pixel to identify and remove hot pixels, with a recommended value of 1
• The FILTER keyword mapping table has been enhanced to support multiple comma-separated FILTER keyword values. For example, if you enter "Clear, C" in the FILTER keyword value box corresponding to the Color band CV, any FITS image using the Clear or C filter will automatically be mapped to the CV color band
• Corrected the AvgFWHM column title in the Excel and CSV reports. The AvgFWHM value is reported in arcseconds rather than arcseconds per pixel
• The Calibrate files -> Master images creation window includes a third method for combining individual FITS images into Master Bias, Master Dark or Master Flat images. In addition to Average and Median, the new Sigma clipping method is now supported. This method is particularly effective for removing star trails or other anomalies from individual FITS images during the creation of a Master Flat image.
• The Image Math window includes a new Advanced - Folder tab, enabling the creation of combined FITS images from a set of FITS images
• For detailed instructions about any of the above new features, please refer to the new edition of our User Guide.

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.5.7

 

• Transformation Corrections (Beta functionality):
• Added CSV TR Report generation with Transformation Corrections
• AAVSO TR Report: for Ensemble photometry, the check star magnitude now reflects the standard (transformed) magnitude instead of the measured magnitude
• CBA CR Report: reference, check and comp star magnitudes are now output as standard (transformed) magnitudes
• Resolved an issue in WCSAutoSolver

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.5.6

 

• Transformation Corrections (Beta functionality):
• Fixed an error when working with Dual Filter color sequences (e.g., IVVIVVV).
• Added support for working with "irregular" color sequences (e.g., BVRIBVR). If a color sequence does not fully comply with a recognized pattern, Phoranso will automatically search for the longest possible subset of images within the sequence, that does match a recognized pattern (BVRBVR in our example). This subset is then used to apply Transformation Corrections, ensuring that as many images as possible are processed effectively.

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.5.5

 

• This release includes functionality for applying Transformation Corrections to color images, enabling the adjustment of instrumental magnitudes to the Johnson-Cousins standard photometric system. It leverages Color Index and Filter Band Transformation Coefficients. Phoranso supports color sequences with Multiple Repeating Filters (eg BVRIBVRI, BBVVRRII, IVVBIRRB) or Dual Filters (eg IVVIVVV). Further details are provided in the User Guide.
  Note: This is Beta functionality, currently available exclusively to users interested in testing features prior to the public release. If you would like to participate, please reach out to receive a free Beta testing activation file. This Beta version enables the generation of AAVSO, CBA and Excel reports with transformed magnitudes, with support for CSV reports coming soon.
  Sincere appreciation to Ken Menzies and Arne Henden for their invaluable support in reviewing the optimal algorithm approach
• The Settings window in the File menu has been extended in the Default values section with a FILTER keyword, allowing you to speficy a FILTER value to be used in case no FILTER keyword is present in the FITS header of your images
• When opening a FITS file, or creating an ID Card, a user can now increase and decrease the scaling factor (37%, 50%, 62%, 75%, ...) using the keyboard, by pressing the Ctrl+ and Ctrl- buttons
• Fixed a bug in the Ephemeris Calculator

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.5.4

 

• We resolved an issue in the calibration command that previously, though only occasionally, introduced a small number of incorrect pixel values, some of which affected the accuracy of the photometry. Special thanks to David Cejudo for his invaluable support."

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.5.3

 

• We have removed the Highest Accuracy option from the Photometry Settings window. From now on, Phoranso will always operate in the highest accuracy photometry mode by default, prioritizing accuracy over execution speed
• Minor enhancements and bug fixes

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.5.2

 

• Fixed a bug in the star extraction algorithm of WCSAutoSolver

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.5.1

 

• Added an AAVSO Reports concatenator tool to the Tools menu. This tool concatenates several AAVSO report files into one file. It takes as input a folder and will concatenate all AAVSO reports within the folder and all of its subfolders.
• We improved the star extraction algorithm of the WCSAutoSolver solver. This results in an improved accuracy of magnitude error values in star fields where multiple faint stars are present in a Target star's gap-to-annulus area.
• Minor enhancements and bug fixes

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.5.0

 

• When creating master bias or master dark images using the Calibrate files command, Phoranso no longer checks on the filter compatibility of the composing images

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.4.9

 

• We fixed a bug in the generation of report files when selecting Allow Fainter-than observations in the Photometry settings window
• We added two sections to the User Guide. One explains how to create an ID Card for a variable star that is not yet listed in the AAVSO VSX database. The second section explains how to create an ID Card for a variable star with high proper motion.

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.4.8

 

• When one or more Comparison stars were located outside of a FITS image, photometric reports were not generated. This issue has been resolved.

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.4.7

 

• When calibrating a FITS image with saturated pixels using a normalized flat image, the resulting pixel values could exceed the maximum allowed by the FITS keyword BITPIX. Phoranso now automatically adjusts the BITPIX level in such cases.
• Previously, creating a report file for a Target star with a "forbidden" character in its name (e.g., a colon ':' in "SSS 100704:194928-353109") caused a report generation failure. This issue has been resolved.
• A bug that prevented the APASS DR10 CNAME and KNAME fields from being written in some AAVSO reports has been fixed
• Phoranso previously used a limit of 5000 stars when retrieving APASS DR10 star catalog information. While sufficient for non-crowded star fields, this limit was inadequate for crowded fields, resulting in only part of the extracted stars being recognised as APASS DR10 stars. This issue has now been corrected.

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.4.6

 

• Updated Phoranso to improve how it manages Windows permissions
• Minor enhancements and bug fixes

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.4.3

 

• Minor enhancements and bug fixes including a Windows 10/11 incompatibility fix

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.4.1

 

• We extended the AAVSO Report file with a new line #Ensemble Comps, which lists the catalog identification of the Reference stars used for ensemble photometry. This new line is exclusively used for ensemble photometry
• Fixed a bug in the retrieval of UCAC4 catalog info, which solves problems with the Load Catalogs operation

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.3.8

 

• When exporting a lightcurve to Peranso, it is now possible to set margin (and other) cursors in the resulting Peranso Observations Window.
• We further improved the UCAC4 id format representation in the various Phoranso windows and reports
• Solved the photometry issue "no matching stars found" when running Phoranso under Parallels on a Mac computer
• In certain cases Phoranso uses the WcsLib library to make conversions between sky and pixel coordinates. This conversion now fully takes into account the transformation parameters TR1_0 .. TR1_14, and TR2_0 ... TR2_14, produced by the PinPoint solver, to correct for image distortions. With special thanks to Ivan Adamin for his coding support.
• Fixed a bug in retrieving Period info from the AAVSO VSX site (the bug was due to an error in the AAVSO vsx votable query).
• Fixed a bug in the Ringset viewer of the Tools menu to ensure it works correctly when your FITS image is 90° or 180° rotated.

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.3.4

 

• Improved the handling of FITS images that do not adhere to the FITS 'standard' through enhanced FITS keyword support.
• Updated files solved by Phoranso to ensure proper handling in AstroImageJ.
• Resolved an issue in the report generation that caused multiple instances of the same report.
• All UCAC4 star names are now written using the correct UCAC4 nomenclature.
• Extended the CBA report to also include the target name's variability type, magnitude range and period.

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.3.1

 

• For a FITS image having no JD and MIDPOINT keywords, Phoranso calculates the mid exposure time using the DATE-OBS and TIME-OBS keywords. In case also the TIME-OBS keyword is missing, the calculated mid exposure time was wrong. This has now been fixed.
• FITS images produced by ZWO ASIImg are lacking the IMAGETYP (IMGTYPE) keywords, which Phoranso uses to differentiate between Bias/Dark/Flat/Science images. We have now added additional logic to correctly handle FITS images produced by ASIImg. 

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.3.0

 

• We have introduced the ability to edit an existing ID Card, allowing users to add, delete or modify target and calibration stars. The new Edit command can be found in the Variable ID Card menu. For more information, please refer to the User Guide.
• Previously, opening a FITS file in a Parallels virtualization environment on a Mac would cause the Load Catalogs operation to fail. This has now been resolved.
• Minor enhancements

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.2.5

 

• First order and second order Extinction correction is now supported. Full details are provided in the User Guide. Special thanks to Ken Menzies and Arne Henden for their support.
• Han Kleijn, author of ASTAP, informed us about an ASTAP bug impacting the solving of FITS files with FOV > 2.8 degrees. This issue has been resolved in the ASTAP release of June 10th, 2024. Phoranso checks if you are using this version of ASTAP, and if not displays an appropriate warning message prompting you to install the latest ASTAP release.
• The ASTAP solving speed in Phoranso has nearly doubled. Special thanks to Han Kleijn for his recommendations.
• The sorting of columns in the ID Cards Manager has been re-enabled (was a regression)
• When using Phoranso on two or more PCs, it is now possible to synchronize ID Cards between all PCs, resulting in identical Variable Star Databases. Full details are provided in the User Guide.
• Phoranso supports tricolor DSLR and OSC FITS files (TR TG TB). They are currently converted to grayscale images. In a later version of Phoranso, we will separate the 3 color channels, allowing to analyse such FITS images by comparison to stars with R, V and B photometric magnitudes.   
• Minor bug fixes and enhancements.

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.2.4

 

• When defining a new ID Card, you must select one or more reference stars and optionally zero or more comparison stars. Phoranso now allows you to enable or disable selected reference and comparison stars for photometry. Enabling a star means it will be included in photometry calculations, while disabling it will exclude it from these calculations. Disabled stars still remain part of the ID Card.
  This feature is especially useful when working with variable stars with large amplitudes. It allows you to select reference and comparison stars that suit the maximum brightness of the variable star, as well as stars that suit its minimum brightness. Depending on the current state of the variable star, you can enable the most appropriate stars and disable the others without deleting them. In ID Cards created prior to version 1.0.2.4, all reference and comparison stars by default will be enabled for photometry.
  Additionally, we will soon release the capability to edit existing ID Cards, offering amongst others extra convenience for enabling or disabling stars as needed.
• Phoranso now supports the U band, allowing photometry reports to include U band magnitudes if you have selected reference, check, and comparison stars with U band data.
• Minor bug fixes and enhancements.

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.2.3

 

• We added several extensions to Phoranso to convert FITS files, not compliant with the SBIG (Diffraction Limited) FITS 'standard', into compliant files. This includes the addition of mandatory keywords and the conversion of keyword values from the imperial to the metric system. With these changes, FITS files that initially could not be solved by ASTAP, PinPoint, WCSAutoSolver, etc now can be solved through Phoranso.

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.2.2

 

• Phoranso now supports FITS files with non-standard headers created by the Skynet Terminator software of the Skynet Robotic Telescope Network
• Fixed a bug in the File -> Settings -> Default values window. The Image height value is now correctly saved.
• Minor improvements

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.2.1

 

• When using the Image Math operation, Phoranso now correctly sets the DATE-OBS, EXPOSURE and JD FITS keywords of the resulting image
• We fixed a synchronization issue with using the ASTAP solver in combination with FITS files stored on network drives
• The Report Settings window in the Photometry menu has been extended with an option Sort observations by Filter. When selected, observations in the report files will first be sorted by Filter, and within a given Filter by JD.
• Minor bug fixes

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.2.0

 

• When Phoranso retrieves AAVSO VSX stars during a Load Catalogs operation, it now also displays variable stars that are listed as "Suspected" in the AAVSO VSX database
• Minor bug fixes

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.1.9

 

• Resolved an issue where importing LesvePhotometry Sequence files containing ATLAS comparison stars would result in errors.
• We have extended the CBA report, in anticipation of integrating extinction and transformation corrections into Phoranso, slated for a forthcoming release
• When creating an IDCard and hovering the mouse over a variable star, a call-out box displays relevant information about the variable star. Additionally, a right-click action triggers a pop-up menu. We've introduced a new feature at the bottom of this menu, labeled Copy name to clipboard, enabling users to conveniently copy the name of the variable star to the Windows clipboard. This functionality proves particularly beneficial when dealing with lengthy variable star names.

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.1.7

 

• The scaling method of master dark frames during image calibration has been extended. Even if the difference in exposure time between the master dark frame and the science image is very large, Phoranso will now still apply the scaling, and proceed with the calibration process.
• The Excel report and Photometry Settings window have been extended to prepare for the introduction of extinction and transformation corrections in a later release of Phoranso.

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.1.6

 

• Fixed a bug in the calibration of images when working with scaled master dark frames
• Minor bug fix in the ID Card manager when deleting an entire ID Card (screen was not properly updating).
• To ensure consistent behavior of different Excel (MS Office) versions, we have now also implemented optimized X-axis minimum and maximum values in Excel reports, similar to the Y-axis adjustments (implemented in Phoranso 1.0.1.2).

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.1.2

 

• If a FITS file exceeds the size capacity of Phoranso, an error message will be displayed to notify the user.
• The Excel report now features optimized Y-axis minimum and maximum values, ensuring alignment with the corresponding values displayed in the Light Curve window.

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.1.0

 

• The Photometry Settings window now features a FILTER Keyword Mapping button, which is further explained in the User Guide.
• An option Mouse Cursor Size has been added to the Miscellaneous tab of the File Settings form. This option allows users to select the size of the mouse cursor to be used in FITS Windows and Light curve windows.
• Phoranso now includes a workaround to address issues encountered on certain PC configurations where the ASTAP solver produces files with erroneous RA and DEC coordinates of extracted stars. This enhancement ensures correct handling of such cases, with special thanks to Bernard Candela and Peter Frank for their valuable support in troubleshooting.
• During Photometry, users can select the Show FITS image option to display the currently processed FITS image. Phoranso will now display the non-calibrated FITS image if the Skip image calibration option is checked; otherwise, it will show the calibrated FITS image. Thanks to Magnus Larsson for this suggestion.
• This update also includes various minor bug fixes and enhancements to improve overall performance and user experience.
• The User Guide has been updated to reflect above changes.

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.0.7

 

• Updated the AAVSO Report file for Ensemble photometry to adhere to the AAVSO Extended File Format requirements. The Check star's magnitude KMAG is now reported as the calculated magnitude when working in Ensemble photometry, whereas it is reported as the instrumental magnitude in other cases. It's worth noting that while Phoranso now follows this convention, some other photometry packages may not make this differentiation. Thanks to Ken Menzies for the recommendation
• Eliminated a dependency on a third-party package that was causing instabilities during the Load Catalogs operation on certain hardware configurations.
• Implemented minor bug fixes to enhance overall stability and performance.

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.0.6

 

• Extended the Excel Report with additional header information
• Implemented small changes to the Photometry workflow
• New version of User Guide

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.0.5

 

• Extended the CBA Report with additional header information (including JD end date of the session, BVRI magnitudes of Ref/Check/Comp stars).
• When doing ensemble photometry with Ensemble type set to Mean in the Photometry settings window, no reports were generated.  This regression has been fixed.

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.0.4

 

• Added FILTER keyword to master flat images in the Master images creation command of the Calibrate files window
• Intricate FITS images, such as those containing numerous hot pixels, often lead to solver failures. To address this, we've enhanced Phoranso with a dedicated algorithm offering failed images a second chance. This involves applying specific image processing techniques that preserve the image's photometric properties, yet often result in successfull solving. While the computation time to solve such intricate images is slightly longer, this approach eliminates the need to discard them in the photometric pipeline.
• Fixed an issue when creating a new Variable ID Card from a DSS (Digital Sky Survey) image

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.0.3

 

• We decided to replace the concept of "good" and "best" compstars with "Advised" compstars. The designation of "advised" is now based on the color index criterion used by the AAVSO Sequence team. Specifically, compstars (reference, check or comparison star) with a B-V color index >0.3 and <1.0 will be marked with a green circle to indicate their status. Special thanks to Ken Menzies for this valuable suggestion.
• A bug in the Light Curve window, which incorrectly displayed the magnitude of Reference stars during ensemble photometry, has been resolved. It is important to note that this bug did not affect the generated reports, which correctly reflected the magnitude of Reference star.

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.0.2

 

• WCSAutoSolver relies on the Gaia DR3 website for fetching astrometric data. In case of unavailability of the website, Phoranso will now present a suitable error message when the user chooses WCSAutoSolver from the File -> Settings menu.
• Adjusted an internal setting in WCSSolver to enhance solver convergence with FITS images.
• When creating Master image files via the Calibrate files window, Phoranso previously required FITS keyword IMAGETYP of Selected files to be set to Bias, Dark, Flat or None. Now, Phoranso accepts values of any format containing Bias, Dark or Flat. Example: when creating a Master Bias image, Phoranso will accept files with IMAGETYP set to BiasFrame.
• Additionally, IMGTYPE keyword is now treated synonymously with IMAGETYP.
• In the FITS Header viewer window, you can now select multiple rows and copy them to the clipboard. This can be done by pressing Ctrl-C or by right-clicking and selecting Copy from the context menu.
• The Tools menu now includes a new option Download UCAC4 catalog,which enables users to obtain a copy of the UCAC4 catalog at any time.
• Resolved an issue related to importing LesvePhotometry export files.
• Fixed a bug in Excel reports occurring when the Ensemble type in the Photometry Settings window was set to Mean or Weighted Mean.
  
  

 

Phoranso 1.0.0.1

 

• Executing a Load Catalog operation on a FITS image for which no APASS DR10 catalog data are available, will now result in a message box allowing the user to either switch to APASS DR6 (UCAC4) or to cancel the operation
• WCSAutoSolver solver has been extended to better handle demanding FITS images (e.g., containing lots of hot pixels)
• Fixed a bug in parsing the Windows folder structure during a Photometry operation
• Added a missing link in the User Guide Star callout section in the Variable ID Card Settings chapter
• The performance of opening Bayer Color FITS images has been improved by a factor of 2 or more.

 

 

Phoranso 1.0.0.0

• First release