What's New in this Version?

Mira Pro UE Version 7.97 adds support for Windows 7. This version of Mira Pro UE is compatible with the Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 operating systems. Version 7.963 was the last significant upgrade. Below are described the new features that were added to version 7.963.

Photometry

For AAVSO members, use the new Prepare AAVSO Report to easily submit large numbers of observations.
View the variation among targets, standards, and check stars through an image set using the new Plot Light Curve command.
Edit names, standard weights, and enter notes for photometry objects to be used in Mira photometry reports and submitted AAVSO reports. See Using Edit Mode in Aperture Photometry.
Enhancements to the Aperture Photometry package provide more detailed listing of standard star results. This helps when using weights for zero point calculations.
A new tutorial describing Time Series Photometry of an image set.
Added an "Include Zero Point Errors" checkbox to the Other page of the Aperture Photometry preferences. This allows you to choose whether to merge the zero point uncertainty and internal errors in the photometric errors that are reported.
Added Heliocentric Julian Date and Modified Julian Date options for photometry. Previously, only the "normal" or geocentric Julian Date was provided. The Julian Date option is selected in the Other Preferences dialog.

Cosmetic Repairs

For image sets that are registered, the new Clean Image Set command does an outstanding job of automatically removing cosmic rays and uncorrected hot pixels.
The new Star Removal package allows you to remove interfering stars from images used for photometry and other applications. It creates a master template for the image and matches that to the target objects being removed. And it also works with image sets.

Combining Images

The Combine Images command adds the alpha-clipping method as an enhanced min/max clipper for rejecting bad data. This new method is also available in the Image Normalization option.

Processing

Added commands for converting RGB images to 16 bit and 8 bit grayscale images. See the Convert to 8 bit Luminance and Convert to 16 bit Luminance commands.

Added Align on Point command for performing 1-click alignment on an image set.
Added Align on Object command for performing 1-click alignment of an extended object.

Plotting

Added a drop menu for Radial Profile Plot button on the main Image Plot Toolbar. This menu gives easier access to frequently used commands.

Image Calibration

Enhanced protection was added in the Image Calibration package to prevent accidental overwriting of existing calibration frames. This is used in the Create Bias, Create Dark, and Create Flat methods.
Error and warning messages in the Image Calibration package were enhanced.

Changes to Filter Commands

The Angle parameter was removed from the Custom Filter and 3x3 Custom Filter commands because it was not possible to achieve a good result when automatically rotating small filter kernels. If you want a rotated kernel, enter the rotated filter weights manually.

Pro Script Module

Added the Attach method to the CImageView class. This method returns the top-most Image window (called the CImageView class in scripts) so that you do not need to select the image window using the AttachFromList method. The Attach method is required if the script is intended to run directly on the top-most image window.
Changed button on main toolbar to open a menu of script commands. Previously, there was only the Script Manager button. The button executes the currently open Script Editor window. If more than 1 script is open, a list is displayed for you to select the target script.
Added the CalcHJD function for calculating the Heliocentric Julian Date from date, time, right ascension, and declination. See the Pro Script User's Guide for details.
Added CRegistry class for storing and retrieving data using the Windows Registry.
Added CStrTok class for splitting ("tokenizing") a string into shorter strings delimited by separator characters.

Screen Capture

Mira now includes a Screen Capture utility so you can easily document your work with pictures of Mira windows.

Parameters and Sample Data now located in "Special Folders"

To better accommodate multiple user accounts and network access, the location of parameter files, sample scripts, and sample data have been changed. These have been moved into locations that could be accessed my multiple user accounts. If you used an earlier version of Mira, this should affect only your use of the sample images, the script Include() function, and the Script Manager. You may also wish to copy old settings from the old Mira\Params folder andMira\Scripts folder into the new folder locations. See Mira's Special Folders.

Prompt before Closing Report, Plot, and 3-D Plot Windows

This feature was added to help prevent accidental closure of these window types. You can enable or disable prompting using check list items in the Other Preferences dialog. Prompting is enabled by default.