STACK
Go beyond a basic stack. Calibrate Light, Dark, Flat and Bias frames; process Deep-Sky and comet sequences; build star trails, long exposures and focus stacks; merge HDR brackets; and create single-row or multi-row panoramas.
Fusion Lab 2026
Calibrate, stack, blend, edit and export Astro and Landscape photography without moving your project between separate applications.
Fusion Lab 1.0 RC2 · 16 dedicated workflows · 16/32-bit processing · AI-assisted tools · non-destructive projects
Go beyond a basic stack. Calibrate Light, Dark, Flat and Bias frames; process Deep-Sky and comet sequences; build star trails, long exposures and focus stacks; merge HDR brackets; and create single-row or multi-row panoramas.
Choose the editor built for the image in front of you. Develop RAW photography in Photo Editor or use Astro Editor for gradient extraction, stretching, color calibration, luminosity masks, star processing and targeted astrophotography adjustments.
Combine a tracked sky with a foreground through AI Astro Blend, refine alignment and masks by hand, then export for print or web with resizing, sharpening, watermarks and embedded ICC profiles.
One connected workspace
Fusion Lab keeps the entire job together: source files, processing parameters, previews and exported results. Move a result directly from stacking or panorama creation into Astro Editor or Photo Editor, save the workflow as a Fusion project and reopen it later.

RC2 · Build 3 — 30 July 2026
Astro Editor and Photo Editor now share the same masking workflow, visual language and local-editing logic.
Adjustments in the left column affect only the active selection. Clicking Done commits the complete masked edit as a single history state.
Graphics, mask layers, previews, Refine, Adjust and manual tools now behave consistently in Astro Editor and Photo Editor.
All Photo Editor adjustment families can be used with selections and masks. Switching or deleting a mask starts again from neutral local controls.
Brush+, Brush− and Eraser are smoother and accelerated on macOS and Windows, with precise local Undo/Redo from the very first click.
Fixed zero-opacity overlays, painting beyond image bounds, Darken Sky Background, slider resets and ONNX/CoreML stability.
Centered 1:1 zoom, Cmd/Ctrl + wheel, shared shortcuts, photographic guides and complete information bars across all four editors and viewers.
The Masks panel is cleaner and easier to scan, with unnecessary frames removed from slider rows.


Build 3 also improves work beyond the image edges, mask preview accuracy and local history reliability while keeping the editing pipeline non-destructive.
Fusion Lab 1.0 RC2
RC2 expands the editing workflow, strengthens non-destructive project safety and improves AI, RAW, FITS and cross-platform reliability.
Shared Astro/Photo masking with layers, Refine, Adjust, previews, local history and accelerated manual brushes.
Standalone Glow, diffraction-spike, Soft Flare and Ring Flare workflow with automatic or manual star selection and independent effect layers.
RAW temperature and tint, exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, whites, blacks, texture, clarity, dehaze, vibrance, saturation and HLVG.
Visible future states, Undo/Redo and named snapshots now follow the Photo Editor model, with an isolated Starless baseline.
Play, Edit and Finish behave as one transaction. Undo truly returns to the previous state, while Cancel never contaminates the image.
Work is protected before a project is loaded, replaced or abandoned, reducing the risk of losing an active editing session.
Correct crop and canvas handling, more conservative registration, edge and star protection, halo suppression and photometric/chromatic matching.
As-shot metadata and white balance, highlight-safe AI White Balance, more robust temperature/tint and astro-safe handling of linear data.
Switch language at runtime without disturbing the project. Learn, FAQ, tooltips and AIRi include broader coverage.
CoreML CPU+GPU on Apple Silicon, ONNX CPU on Intel, DirectML on Windows, Unicode paths and more robust project saving.
Correct Astro Editor loading and ABI-consistent CFITSIO headers and libraries strengthen scientific-format compatibility.
New in RC2
Finish astronomical images with controlled, layered star effects—without leaving the Fusion Lab editing workflow.
Create Star Glow, diffraction spikes, Soft Flare and Ring Flare using automatic detection or precise manual star selection. Start with Essential controls, open Advanced parameters when needed, save presets and inspect the star mask or an Effects Only result in real time.

Meet AIRi
AIRi is not a generic help window. It understands which Fusion Lab workspace is open, whether an image or sequence is available and which processing stage you are working on.
It uses that context to explain the active workflow, suggest the next step and help you understand the result without taking control away from you.

From Home, Standard Calibration, Deep-Sky, Comet, Focus Stacking, Photo Editor, Astro Editor or AI Astro Blend, AIRi adapts its advice to the active task. Ask how to prepare Light, Dark, Flat and Bias frames; which stacking method to choose; how to approach a Milky Way mosaic; or how to refine an Astro Blend mask.
Checks the active workspace, available image and relevant diagnostics.
Recommends what to do next in the current workflow.
Helps define subject, format, style and destination for a future generative workflow.
Explains how to choose compatible sky and foreground images and refine a credible composite.
Prepares a transparent, reviewable report.
AIRi includes a searchable multilingual knowledge base covering every main workflow, linear data, color, masks, stars, export, licensing and updates. Inside AI Astro Blend it recognizes individual parameter names and explains controls such as Halo Suppression, Noise Matching and Edge Protection.
When local pixel analysis is enabled, AIRi reads only a reduced preview and reports median luminance, tonal spread, black and highlight clipping, apparent detail/noise and the dominant color cast. The original image is never modified or uploaded. Values are preview guidance, not scientific measurements of linear RAW data.
AIRi highlights likely causes instead of leaving you with raw technical messages. It recognizes:
When a workflow records a corrective action, AIRi brings it forward and identifies affected frames and rejection reasons.
AIRi works locally by default with no image upload. In RC2 its Learn content, FAQ, tooltips and knowledge coverage have been expanded across all 11 interface languages. AIRi Cloud can optionally provide a conversational model through the protected AstroPanel gateway for users with an active Fusion Lab license.
Cloud conversations send only chat text, selected language, active workflow and contextual help text. Images and diagnostic files are not sent through chat, and the OpenAI key is never stored inside Fusion Lab. If the cloud service is unavailable or temporarily limited, the local guide and FAQ remain available.
Before preparing a report, AIRi shows a complete preview. System version, operating system and architecture are optional. After explicit consent, the report is saved locally and an email draft addressed to AstroPanel opens for review and personal sending.
Optional anonymous diagnostics never include images. Paths, email addresses, IP addresses and license information are removed or converted into irreversible fingerprints. Chats can be saved locally or cleared at any time. In Fusion Lab 1.0 RC2, AIRi never applies edits, uploads an image or generates synthetic content without a separate explicit action and configured engine.
Purpose-built imaging intelligence
Alongside the AIRi assistant, Fusion Lab includes two different AI imaging engines, each designed for a specific astrophotography problem.
Astro Background Extractor is integrated directly into Astro Editor. Load an astronomical image, estimate and remove its uneven background, inspect the gradient map and continue immediately with stretching, color, masks and star processing in the same workspace.
Dedicated ONNX models estimate the background without a manually placed sample grid. Tiled inference supports large images, reconstructing overlapping regions into a continuous background model. Optional refinement, model calibration and Structure Protection help preserve real nebulae, stars and astronomical detail.
Control AI strength, smooth residual gradients, reduce chromatic contamination and preview the estimated gradient at adjustable opacity. If the AI runtime or model is unavailable, Fusion Lab safely falls back to the integrated Polynomial or RBF classical extractor.
RC2 corrects crop and canvas handling, uses more conservative registration and adds edge/star protection, halo suppression and stronger photometric and chromatic matching.
The ONNX model contract is now verifiable. Manual control points, mask brushes and the diagnostic Quality Map remain available whenever the automatic result needs precise correction.
AI Background Extractor cleans and prepares the astronomical image; AI Astro Blend combines a finished sky with the landscape.
The complete toolkit
Open a category to explore the tools built for astrophotography, multi-exposure photography, editing and inspection.
Import and classify Light, Dark, Flat and Bias frames. Inspect calibration masters, preflight Light-frame quality and stack with Mean, Median, Winsorized Sigma Clipping or Linear-Fit Clipping.
Quality weighting, Drizzle 2×, rejection-map export, adjustable sigma, stellar registration, RGB balance and linear 16-bit or 32-bit TIFF output are included.
Calibrate optional Dark, Flat and Bias frames, align the Light sequence and combine it as LRGB, HOO, SHO/Hubble or RGB plus narrowband. Export 16-bit TIFF, 32-bit float TIFF or 32-bit float FITS.
Calibrate the sequence, detect the comet nucleus and register Light frames on its motion. Choose Mean or Median integration while preserving chronological capture order.
Combine a fixed-camera sequence with Lighten/Maximum, Mean, Comet Trail or Reverse Comet Trail. Smooth tapering creates a controlled bright head and fading tail.
Create Glow, diffraction spikes, Soft Flare and Ring Flare with automatic/manual star selection, Essential and Advanced controls, presets, masks, Effects Only output and a real-time preview.
Multiple layers can use different stars and effects, with independent visibility, order and opacity.
Blend a tracked sky with a foreground at original resolution. Automatic sky segmentation uses an ONNX model with a classical fallback; registration supports translation, similarity, affine, homography or local mesh warp.
Refine paired control points, positioning and masks; match exposure, color, local contrast and noise; protect stars; suppress halos; and choose edge-aware or multiband blending. The Quality Map identifies seam risk, doubled stars, halos, uncertain registration and noise discontinuities.
Estimate and remove uneven astronomical backgrounds with tiled ONNX inference, Structure Protection and an adjustable gradient-model preview. Polynomial and RBF extraction remain available as safe classical fallbacks.
Continue directly from calibration or stacking into a dedicated astrophotography editor with Base/RAW development, stretch, color calibration, masks, Starless processing, history and layered star effects.
Align and average a tripod sequence to smooth water and clouds at full resolution. Choose Mean for a natural long-exposure effect or Median to reduce transient elements.
Merge the sharpest local detail from frames focused at different distances—designed for macro, product and landscape sequences.
Register repeated photographs of the same static scene and combine them with Mean or Median integration to reduce random noise.
Use Lighten/Maximum blending to combine the brightest pixels from multiple light-painting passes while preserving the fixed scene.
Align bracketed exposures through full-resolution exposure fusion. Select gentle, balanced or strong highlight recovery, work in 16-bit or 32-bit and start from 15 HDR looks.
Develop urban and suburban night brackets with dedicated highlight recovery, automatic exposure ordering and 32-bit tonal precision, then refine color casts, urban lights, structure, haze and gradients.
Find overlaps, estimate camera geometry and blend full-resolution photographs. Use Auto, Perspective, Cylindrical, Spherical, Collage or Fusion Pano Multi-row projection with Astro, Terrestrial and multi-row profiles.
Inspect correspondences, add control points, remove outliers, preview seams, normalize exposure and color, apply final RGB balance and choose Safe, Bounding or No Crop. Auto-stretch affects the preview only—not linear output.
Develop RAW photography with complete tonal and color controls, local retouching, luminosity masks, non-destructive history, snapshots and full-resolution professional export.

Editing and inspection
A complete photographic development environment with real-time preview, non-destructive history and full-resolution export. It combines conventional RAW development, local retouching and dedicated tools for monochrome and urban night photography.
A complete monochrome development section, not a simple desaturation switch. An eight-channel mixer controls how Reds, Oranges, Yellows, Greens, Cyans, Blues, Purples and Magentas translate into grayscale.
Refine the result with dedicated contrast, cool-to-warm toning and film grain. Natural, Portrait, Landscape and Dramatic Sky presets provide useful starting points while every channel remains adjustable.
Designed to finish night-photography brackets created by Fusion Lab's N-HDR merge, with targeted Yellow, Red and Magenta Cast controls. Urban Lights recovers color and detail in artificial lighting, Structure restores local definition, and Haze / Gradients controls atmospheric contamination and uneven illumination.
Use luminosity ranges, AI Sky/Ground selections, manual Brush+, Brush− and Eraser tools, ranges and combinations inside the same Masks workspace shared with Astro Editor.
Refine a selection, preview its overlay, then open Adjust to apply any Photo Editor adjustment family locally. HOLD / LOCKED limits the left-column development controls to the active selection, and Done records the complete edit as one history state.

A dedicated environment that brings Astro Background Extractor and the complete astrophotography finishing workflow together in Fusion Lab.
RC2 corrects FITS loading inside Astro Editor and aligns CFITSIO headers and libraries at ABI level. Unicode paths, autosave and project persistence are more robust across supported platforms.

Open supported photographic and scientific formats with metadata, zoom and inspection tools before choosing the next workflow.
Quality before rendering
Analyze star count, FWHM, eccentricity, SNR, clipping, color casts and motion. Every frame receives a quality score and a conservative keep/reject recommendation.
Inspect master Bias, Dark and Flat statistics, defective pixels, illumination, vignette maps, defect maps and compatibility warnings.
Validate overlap and geometry without composing the full panorama, with confidence, inliers, seams and corrective actions recorded in the diagnostic log.
Professional output
Export JPEG, PNG, 16-bit TIFF or 32-bit float TIFF. Resize to a target width, sharpen the output, position a PNG watermark, control JPEG quality or maximum file size, and convert to sRGB, Adobe RGB (1998), ProPhoto RGB or Display P3 with the ICC profile embedded.
Scientific workflows can remain linear; Deep-Sky also supports 32-bit float FITS.
Bounded previews, cancellable jobs and memory-aware execution keep large imaging projects under control. The persistent queue processes demanding jobs sequentially and safely restarts interrupted work.
Selected operations use Metal acceleration on supported Apple systems. Compatible AI models run through ONNX Runtime, with classical fallbacks where available.
The complete bundle
Fusion Lab brings capture preparation, stacking, photographic development, astrophotography processing, AI tools and professional delivery into one license and one non-destructive project environment.
Dedicated workflows in one bundle.
Instead of moving files between separate stacking, panorama, RAW, astronomy and export applications, Fusion Lab keeps the complete image pipeline connected.
Release & compatibility
Download RC2 today for Windows 10 / 11, macOS Apple Silicon and Intel-based Macs.
RC2 is available now, with DirectML acceleration on supported Windows systems, robust Unicode paths and safer project saving.
RC2 is available now for macOS 13 or later, with CoreML CPU+GPU on Apple Silicon and ONNX CPU on Intel-based Macs.
If you have already purchased Fusion Lab, download the version currently available for your platform from your Account page.
Fusion Lab 2026
Spend less time moving files between applications and more time refining the result—from calibrated frames to an image ready for web, print or the next creative stage.