Meridian - Deep Sky Catalog

Description

Meridian indexes, catalogs, and visualizes your deep-sky astrophotography archive. Point it at your imaging folders and it reads every FITS and XISF file, identifies each target by its sky coordinates across 41,730 objects in 20 catalogs, groups exposures into sessions, and presents everything through six purpose-built views. CATALOG Browse every target you've ever imaged. See per-filter integration breakdowns, session history, equipment comparisons, and data set details. Your finished images stay linked to the frames that produced them, even when they live on different drives. Sort and filter by object type, constellation, integration time, or imaging date. Universal search (⌘K) finds any target instantly. SOURCE FILES Explore your archive as a navigable file tree. See FITS/XISF header metadata, thumbnail previews, and file details without leaving the app. A triage workbench shows you exactly which files were skipped and why, with per-file and per-folder control to overrule the decision. Live monitoring via FSEvents detects new files as your capture software writes them. MY SKY An interactive sky map powered by Aladin Lite with your imaged targets overlaid as color-coded markers. Browse the full reference catalog organized by type (Messier, NGC, IC, Sharpless, and more) to discover what you've captured and what's still on your list. WISH LIST Plan future imaging sessions with visibility calculations from your observing location. 24-hour altitude charts show when targets cross the meridian. Field-of-view analysis tells you how each object fits your equipment. EQUIPMENT Every telescope, camera, and filter in your archive, pulled automatically from your FITS headers. See the targets and integration time captured on each, and rename or merge profiles when your headers disagree with each other. STATISTICS A comprehensive dashboard with eight sections: integration totals, monthly timelines, filter breakdowns, equipment usage, seeing quality (FWHM analysis from star extraction), sky coverage by constellation, revisited targets, and archive health diagnostics. KEY FEATURES - Identifies targets by mount coordinates, FITS headers, and folder names - 41,730 reference objects across Messier, NGC, IC, Sharpless, and 16 more catalogs - Hybrid plate solving: fast local solving with ASTAP, with optional Astrometry.net cloud rescue - Cloud solving is strictly opt-in. Nothing leaves your Mac unless you say so - Metal-accelerated auto-stretch thumbnails from raw linear data (MTF algorithm) - Source file triage with persistent per-file and per-folder overrides - Works with N.I.N.A., SGPro, APT, KStars/Ekos, ASIAIR, PixInsight, Astro Pixel Processor, and Siril - Smart telescope ready: Seestar, DWARF, and anything writing standard FITS - Planetary, lunar, and solar folders cataloged alongside your deep sky work - Quick Look extension for FITS/XISF previews and thumbnails in Finder - Star extraction with HFR/FWHM measurements and seeing analysis - Spotlight integration for system-wide search - Universal binary, native on both Apple Silicon and Intel - Keyboard-driven workflow with full shortcut support SAFE BY DESIGN Meridian never modifies, moves, or renames your files. Your archive stays exactly as it is. Works offline, with no subscription required. Built with Apple frameworks. No bundled third-party components.

Meridian 1.0.12 fixes star size measurements, makes network archives much faster to work with, and improves how your catalog describes what you shot. Star size • Star size figures for color cameras were about four times too high on large frames. They're now measured correctly, and the figure is called Star FWHM, since it includes focus, optics and tracking as well as seeing. • Large mono frames are measured at full resolution, and every view uses the same calculation. • Figures that are an upper limit, because stars are only about two pixels across, are marked Undersampled. Without a focal length or pixel size, star size is shown in pixels. • Re-analyze Stars on a target's menu measures its frames again. After updating, run it on your color targets to get the corrected figures. Network shares and moved archives • Scan This Folder for New Files in Source Files imports new files from one folder instead of a whole watched folder. • Rebuild Target from Disk scans only that target's folders. • Rescans of a network share no longer check every file already in your catalog. • A library copied from another Mac, or one whose drive isn't connected, opens without hanging. • Relocate All moves every watched folder inside a parent folder in one step. Relocation keeps going if you close the Watched Folders window, and the result appears as soon as your catalog is updated. Catalog • Objects in Field lists only objects that fall within your frames. • Constellations now follow the official IAU boundaries for every object, and objects in Serpens no longer show "Se1" or "Se2". • A Data Set card shows "+1 other setup" when its sessions used more than one camera or telescope. • Common names you set yourself are kept when Meridian's object database is updated. • Your hero image is drawn from the original file at your screen's resolution, in HDR when the file and your display support it, and it can fill a full-screen window. Other fixes • Quick Look in Source Files works after one click on macOS 27, and File > Quick Look (Command-Y) previews the selection. • View in Catalog on an imaged Wish List item works again. • The mixed-folder warning explains that each object folder should sit directly inside a watched folder. • Reset All Data also clears thumbnails. • Source Files shows "Loading folders…" while it builds its list, and selecting a file in a large library no longer stalls. • When a FITS or XISF file can't be read, the message says why. • Time by Filter lists only filters you've used. • Refresh Metadata no longer creates "Unknown Telescope + Unknown Camera" equipment. • Each issue in Settings > Issues has its own Dismiss button.

Information

Seller

Andrew Burwell

Category

Photo & Video

Version

1.0.12

Requires

iOS 14.0+

Size

12.0 MB

Age Rating

4+