Still adding programs to Windows 8.....

This is the Standalone Demo version for Windows, a 'freebie' for home use, and there's also versions for Mac and Linux. It's advertised as the best noise reduction program available, and I can't comment on that, but I know it has cleaned up some of my messy images, and I've been happily using it for years. This one shown is the latest version, with several new improvements. Here's what it looks like when you open the program....

The word 'Filtered' visible in the upper right corner of the image does not appear in the saved copy - only in this working window to confirm that you've finished your tasks. And that finished copy of the image looks like this.......

 

And you can get yours here. In the box for "standalone application" click on the "Download" link, and the first listing on that page will be for the Demo (free) version. When you've experimented with it a bit, you will find that there are quite a few ways you can configure it for best results. So don't be afraid to play with it a bit until you're familiar with what it can do. If adjusted carefully, it can take a blotchy and clumpy old image and smooth it out so it looks fresh again. It can't make Grandma look 18 again, but it will give her a free facelift.....

Nervous about Adobe Reader security vulnerabilities? Try this one instead. 

And let's not forget our favorite star-gazing program, Stellarium, the real-time planetarium for your computer. Once you find your own location on the long list of them you're all set to start surfing the universe, hypothetically, that is...

 

And here's a look at tonight's sky from here, without our present cloud cover....

and that's another neat thing about this - it isn't impaired by local clouds, and yet the motions of the celestial bodies are in real time, just as if you were outside and able to view them in the actual sky. The marvels of science!