######## Processing parameters ########
AAVSO_COMMENT_STRING= NMW-TexasTech Camera-2 135mm f/2.2 telephoto lens + QHY600M CMOS
ASTCHECK_ASTEROID_SEARCH_RADIUS_ARCSEC=
BAD_REGION_FILE= /var/www/nmw_calibration/TTUQ2b1x1/TTUQ2_bad_region.lst
CAMERA_SETTINGS= TTUQ2b1x1
CHECK_POINTING_ACCURACY= yes
DARK_FRAMES_DIR=
EXCLUSION_LIST= ../exclusion_list_TTUQ2.txt
FILTER_BAD_IMG__MAX_APERTURE_STAR_SIZE_PIX= 12.5
FILTER_BAD_IMG__MAX_ELONGATION_AminusB_PIX= 0.55
FILTER_BAD_IMG__MIN_APERTURE_STAR_SIZE_PIX= 2.0
FILTER_BRIGHT_MAG_CUTOFF_TRANSIENT_SEARCH= -5
FILTER_FAINT_MAG_CUTOFF_TRANSIENT_SEARCH= 14.5
FLAT_FIELD_FILE=
FRAME_EDGE_OFFSET_PIX= 100
GAIA_BAND_FOR_CATALOGED_SOURCE_CHECK=
MAX_NEW_TO_REF_MEAN_IMG_VALUE_RATIO= 100
MAX_NEW_IMG_MEAN_VALUE= 25000
MAX_SD_RATIO_OF_SECOND_EPOCH_IMGS= 0.18
MAX_SD_RATIO_OF_SECOND_EPOCH_IMGS_SOFT_LIMIT= 0.12
MPC_CODE= 500
NMW_CALIBRATION= /var/www/nmw_calibration
NUMBER_OF_DETECTED_TRANSIENTS_BEFORE_FILTERING_HARD_LIMIT= 3000
NUMBER_OF_DETECTED_TRANSIENTS_BEFORE_FILTERING_SOFT_LIMIT= 2000
OMP_NUM_THREADS=
ONLINE_MPCHECKER_BUTTON_ASTEROID_SEARCH_RADIUS_ARCMIN=
PHOTOMETRIC_CALIBRATION=
REQUIRE_PIX_SHIFT_BETWEEN_IMAGES_FOR_TRANSIENT_CANDIDATES= yes
SEXTRACTOR_CONFIG_BRIGHTSTARPASS= default.sex.telephoto_lens_onlybrightstars_v1
SEXTRACTOR_CONFIG_FILES= default.sex.telephoto_lens_onlybrightstars_v1 default.sex.telephoto_lens_vSTL
STARMATCH_RADIUS_PIX= 3.5
SYSREM_ITERATIONS= 0
TELESCOP=
TELESCOP_NAME_KNOWN_TO_VaST_FOR_FOV_DETERMINATION=
UCAC5_PLATESOLVE_ITERATIONS= 2
FPACK_FULLY_CALIBRATED_IMAGE= no
#######################################
HOSTNAME= tau
USER=
HOME=
#######################################
SExtractor catalog cache: enabled, directory /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/vast_sextractor_cache
Reference image directory is set to /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs
VIZIER_SITE=vizier.cds.unistra.fr
GAIA_DR2_CLIENT=vizquery (lib/vizquery -> VizieR vizier.cds.unistra.fr)
INFO: MAKE_PNG_PLOTS is set to yes
FITS_FILE_EXT=fits
CALIBRATION_STATUS_PREFIX=
Fields in the data directory:
Cam-02-Q2b1x1
#######################################
########### Starting Cam-02-Q2b1x1 ###########
Processing Cam-02-Q2b1x1
server tau has sufficient free disk space available: 759631 MB at /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir
server tau has sufficient free disk space available: 759631 MB at .
Checking input images (2 new)
REFERENCE_EPOCH__FIRST_IMAGE= /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-00-21_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0526.fits
REFERENCE_EPOCH__SECOND_IMAGE= /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-01-03_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0527.fits
Small preview (one of the new images): 
Large previews of the second-epoch (new) images:
MAKE_PNG_PLOTS=yes
renamed 'Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-57-56_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0100.png' -> 'transient_report/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-57-56_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0100.fits_preview.png'
Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-57-56_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0100.fits

renamed 'Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-58-44_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0101.png' -> 'transient_report/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-58-44_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0101.fits_preview.png'
Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-58-44_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0101.fits

Read-check the input FITS images... read-check OK
Blank image check the input FITS images... blank-image-check OK
Read date check the input FITS images... read-date-check OK
Mean value check the input FITS images... OK, at least two new images have mean values below the threshold.
----------------------------------------------
INFO: REFERENCE_EPOCH__FIRST_IMAGE_MEAN_VALUE= 628.6970
INFO: REFERENCE_EPOCH__FIRST_IMAGE_SD= 574.5070
INFO: SECOND_EPOCH__FIRST_IMAGE_MEAN_VALUE= 2157.4926
INFO: SECOND_EPOCH__FIRST_IMAGE_SD= 676.6025
INFO: SECOND_EPOCH__SECOND_IMAGE_MEAN_VALUE= 2154.8797
INFO: SECOND_EPOCH__SECOND_IMAGE_SD= 676.4327
----------------------------------------------
INFO: ref_to_second_epoch_img_mean_ratio= 3.43169
INFO: SECOND_EPOCH__SD_ratio= 0.000
----------------------------------------------
Calibration settings: DARK_FRAMES_DIR= FLAT_FIELD_FILE=
try_to_calibrate_the_input_frame(): DARK_FRAMES_DIR is not set - not attempting to dark-subtract the input frames
try_to_calibrate_the_input_frame(): DARK_FRAMES_DIR is not set - not attempting to dark-subtract the input frames
after the calibration attempt:
SECOND_EPOCH__FIRST_IMAGE=/data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-57-56_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0100.fits
SECOND_EPOCH__SECOND_IMAGE=/data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-58-44_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0101.fits
Updating neverexclude_list.txt
'/var/www/nmw_calibration/neverexclude_list.txt' -> './neverexclude_list.txt'
Choosing bad regions list
'/var/www/nmw_calibration/TTUQ2b1x1/TTUQ2_bad_region.lst' -> 'bad_region.lst'
wait
*------ default.sex.telephoto_lens_onlybrightstars_v1 ------*
'default.sex.telephoto_lens_onlybrightstars_v1' -> 'default.sex'
Starting VaST with default.sex.telephoto_lens_onlybrightstars_v1
./vast --norotation --noflagimage --starmatchraius 3.5 --matchstarnumber 500 --selectbestaperture --sysrem 0 --type 4 --maxsextractorflag 99 --UTC --nofind --nojdkeyword /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-00-21_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0526.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-01-03_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0527.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-57-56_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0100.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-58-44_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0101.fits
Last image: 2461098.74868341 27.02.2026 05:57:56.247 UTC
ERROR running VaST on the field Cam-02-Q2b1x1 (wrong field? clouds? very bad focus? -- transient_factory_test31.txt)
____ VaST output ____
--==VaST 1.0rc89==--
Parsing command line arguments...
opt 'r': assuming no rotation larger than 15.0 degrees!
opt 'F': Will NOT create flag images for SExtractor
opt '5': 3.500000 pix is the new fixed star matching radius!
opt 'b': Using 500 reference stars for image matching!
opt '3': Will try to select best aperture for each source!
opt 'y': 0 SysRem iterations will be conducted!
opt 't 4': robust linear magnitude calibration (vary zero-point and slope)
opt 'x': 99 is the maximum acceptable SExtractor flag!
WARNING: disabling the mag-size filter in order not to reject blended stars.
opt 'u': Stick with UTC time system, no conversion to TT will be done!
opt 'f': Run ./find_candidates manually!
opt 'k': "JD" keyword in FITS image header will be ignored!
INFO from vast_remove_directory(): Could not open directory: symlinks_to_images
INFO from vast_remove_directory(): Could not open directory: converted_images
INFO from vast_remove_directory(): Could not open directory: unpacked_images
Checking the list of input images specified on the command line ...
WARNING from replace_file_with_symlink_if_filename_contains_white_spaces() the input file /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-00-21_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0526.fits is already a symlink and we do not allow symlinks on symlinks
WARNING from replace_file_with_symlink_if_filename_contains_white_spaces() the input file /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-01-03_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0527.fits is already a symlink and we do not allow symlinks on symlinks
Looking for the list of input images with time corrections in vast_list_of_input_images_with_time_corrections.txt ... list not found.
This is OK if you specify the input images on the command line, not through this text file.
Checking write permissions for the current directory (/data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir/vast_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J)... OK
Found a system-wide installation of SExtractor
Cleaning old outNNNNN.dat files.
Done with cleaning!
VaST was started with the following command line:
./vast --norotation --noflagimage --starmatchraius 3.5 --matchstarnumber 500 --selectbestaperture --sysrem 0 --type 4 --maxsextractorflag 99 --UTC --nofind --nojdkeyword /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-00-21_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0526.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-01-03_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0527.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-57-56_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0100.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-58-44_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0101.fits
Preparing to process 4 input FITS images...
######## Forcing special settings for the transient detection ########
transient search mode: disabling the mag-size filter as it should be switched off when running a transient search!
transient search mode: disabling the bad image filter as it will not help during the transient search!
transient search mode: will not try to gues image saturation limit
transient search mode: no UTC-to-TT time system conversion will be performed!!!
transient search mode: setting the maximum acceptable SExtractor flag to 3
transient search mode: disabling rejectin of images with elliptical stars
transient search mode: not discarding large sources
################
Setting the fixed star match radius of 3.50 pix
We have 4 images to process.
The number of processor cores determined from /proc/cpuinfo is 24.
Running SExtractor in 4 parallel threads...
The gain value (GAIN=0.370) from default.sex will be used for image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-00-21_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0526.fits
The above guess is based on the non-default gain value specified in default.sex by user
autodetect_aperture() is running SExtractor on /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-00-21_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0526.fits
autodetect_aperture() is doing a preliminary SExtractor run to determine an appropriate aperture size
sex -c default.sex -PARAMETERS_NAME autodetect_aper.param -CATALOG_NAME autodetect_aper_image00001.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-00-21_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0526.fits > image00001.cat.sex_log 2>&1
The gain value (GAIN=0.370) from default.sex will be used for image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-01-03_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0527.fits
The above guess is based on the non-default gain value specified in default.sex by user
The gain value (GAIN=0.370) from default.sex will be used for image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-57-56_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0100.fits
The above guess is based on the non-default gain value specified in default.sex by user
autodetect_aperture() is running SExtractor on /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-01-03_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0527.fits
autodetect_aperture() is doing a preliminary SExtractor run to determine an appropriate aperture size
sex -c default.sex -PARAMETERS_NAME autodetect_aper.param -CATALOG_NAME autodetect_aper_image00002.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-01-03_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0527.fits > image00002.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is running SExtractor on /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-57-56_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0100.fits
autodetect_aperture() is doing a preliminary SExtractor run to determine an appropriate aperture size
sex -c default.sex -PARAMETERS_NAME autodetect_aper.param -CATALOG_NAME autodetect_aper_image00003.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-57-56_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0100.fits > image00003.cat.sex_log 2>&1
The gain value (GAIN=0.370) from default.sex will be used for image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-58-44_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0101.fits
The above guess is based on the non-default gain value specified in default.sex by user
autodetect_aperture() is running SExtractor on /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-58-44_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0101.fits
autodetect_aperture() is doing a preliminary SExtractor run to determine an appropriate aperture size
sex -c default.sex -PARAMETERS_NAME autodetect_aper.param -CATALOG_NAME autodetect_aper_image00004.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-58-44_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0101.fits > image00004.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is doing the main SExtractor run
sex -PARAMETERS_NAME default.param -PHOT_APERTURES 6.4,6.4,5.7,7.0,7.6,8.3 -VERBOSE_TYPE NORMAL -CATALOG_NAME image00003.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-57-56_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0100.fits > image00003.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is doing the main SExtractor run
sex -PARAMETERS_NAME default.param -PHOT_APERTURES 6.4,6.4,5.7,7.0,7.7,8.3 -VERBOSE_TYPE NORMAL -CATALOG_NAME image00004.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-58-44_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0101.fits > image00004.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is doing the main SExtractor run
sex -PARAMETERS_NAME default.param -PHOT_APERTURES 6.2,6.2,5.5,6.8,7.4,8.0 -VERBOSE_TYPE NORMAL -CATALOG_NAME image00001.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-00-21_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0526.fits > image00001.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is doing the main SExtractor run
sex -PARAMETERS_NAME default.param -PHOT_APERTURES 6.2,6.2,5.5,6.8,7.4,8.0 -VERBOSE_TYPE NORMAL -CATALOG_NAME image00002.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-01-03_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0527.fits > image00002.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is done with image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-57-56_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0100.fits
Parent process says: we are done fork()ing.
Waiting for thread 3 to finish...
autodetect_aperture() is done with image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-58-44_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0101.fits
Waiting for thread 2 to finish...
autodetect_aperture() is done with image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-01-03_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0527.fits
Waiting for thread 1 to finish...
autodetect_aperture() is done with image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-00-21_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0526.fits
Done with SExtractor!
TIMING SExtractor: 3 seconds
Matching stars between images!
No manually selected comparison stars file manually_selected_comparison_stars.lst which is fine.
Processing /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-00-21_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0526.fits
9576x6388 FITS image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-00-21_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0526.fits
Trying to guess the time system by parsing the comment string 'Time of observation (UTC)'
Time system set from the comment to DATE-OBS keyword: 'Time of observation (UTC)'
The input time system is identified as: UTC (blank if unknown)
Setting observation date using DATE-OBS keyword: 2025-12-23T10:00:21.7044890
Setting observation time using DATE-OBS keyword: 2025-12-23T10:00:21.7044890
Observing time converted to the "standard" FITS header format:
DATE-OBS= 2025-12-23T10:00:21.704
EXPTIME = 20.000
Using the catalog image00001.cat SExtracted earlier from the image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-00-21_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0526.fits
Exposure 20 sec, 23.12.2025 10:00:21.704 UTC = JD(UTC) 2461032.91703361 mid. exp.
SExtractor output filtering results:
* passed selection: 10710, (10708 good for image matching)
* rejected as having no flux measurement: 0
* rejected as having SNR<3.0: 0
* rejected inside rectangles defined in bad_region.lst: 0
* rejected close to frame edge: 62
* rejected as being too small (<1.6 pix): 0
* rejected as being too large (>6.2 pix): 0
* rejected as outliers in mag-size plot: 0
* rejected as having SExtractor flags > 99 and <= 7: 0
* rejected as having hopelessly bad SExtractor flags (>7): 0
* rejected due to an external image flag: 0
* rejected as having bad PSF fit: 0
---
You may change some of the filtering parameters by editing src/vast_limits.h and re-running 'make'.
Please note: the CCD position-dependent magnitude correction will be applied.
get_detection_limit_sn(): Detection limit: -7.64
Detection limit from the magnitude-SNR relation= -7.6 (5.0 sigma detection)
The simple faintest star detection limit= -9.8
80 percent brightest stars detection limit= -10.5
Selected detection limit= -10.5
Final detection limit= -10.5 (after subtracting MAG_TRANSIENT_ABOVE_THE_REFERENCE_FRAME_LIMIT=0.0)
Parameter box for transient search: 10.06.2 pix): 0
* rejected as outliers in mag-size plot: 0
* rejected as having SExtractor flags > 99 and <= 7: 0
* rejected as having hopelessly bad SExtractor flags (>7): 1
* rejected due to an external image flag: 0
* rejected as having bad PSF fit: 0
---
You may change some of the filtering parameters by editing src/vast_limits.h and re-running 'make'.
10739 * detected, using 501/ 500 * for reference/current image matching, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000186, number_of_ambiguous_matches=2
refining the coordinate transformation... fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000186, number_of_ambiguous_matches=2
10234 * matched, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000186, number_of_ambiguous_matches=2
10234 * matched (2nd iteration). fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000186, number_of_ambiguous_matches=2
10234 * matched (3rd iteration). Success!
rotation [degrees] = 0.006
10739 stars detected, 10234 stars matched
Performing magnitude calibration using automatically selected comparison stars
Expecting to find at least 40 * for magnitude calibration
We have N_good_stars = 9600, N_manually_selected_comparison_stars = 0
Using 9600 stars for magnitude calibration (before filtering).
Iteratively removing outliers from the linear mag-mag relation (unweighted fit)...
After removing outliers in (X,Y,dm) plane, we are left with 9600 stars for magnitude calibration.
Using the linear CCD position-dependent magnitude correction:
delta_m = -0.00000*X_pix -0.00000*Y_pix +0.00014
Iteratively removing outliers from the mag-mag relation (weighted linear/polynomial fit)...
Computing robust linear magnitude calibration.
Used 9599 stars for magnitude calibration (after filtering).
get_detection_limit_sn(): Detection limit: -7.64
11215 objects stored in memory (400000 max.)
Magnitude calibration is performed successfully!
Saving observations to the cache... OK
memory: 103760 kB used, 115996 kB peak, 65263848 kB available RAM
processed 2 of 4 images ( 50.0%)
Processing /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-57-56_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0100.fits
9576x6388 FITS image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-57-56_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0100.fits
Trying to guess the time system by parsing the comment string 'Time of observation (UTC)'
Time system set from the comment to DATE-OBS keyword: 'Time of observation (UTC)'
The input time system is identified as: UTC (blank if unknown)
Setting observation date using DATE-OBS keyword: 2026-02-27T05:57:56.2477271
Setting observation time using DATE-OBS keyword: 2026-02-27T05:57:56.2477271
Observing time converted to the "standard" FITS header format:
DATE-OBS= 2026-02-27T05:57:56.247
EXPTIME = 20.000
Using the catalog image00003.cat SExtracted earlier from the image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-57-56_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0100.fits
SExtractor output filtering results:
* passed selection: 6480
* rejected as having no flux measurement: 0
* rejected as having SNR<3.0: 0
* rejected inside rectangles defined in bad_region.lst: 0
* rejected close to frame edge: 28
* rejected as being too small (<1.6 pix): 0
* rejected as being too large (>6.4 pix): 0
* rejected as outliers in mag-size plot: 0
* rejected as having SExtractor flags > 99 and <= 7: 0
* rejected as having hopelessly bad SExtractor flags (>7): 0
* rejected due to an external image flag: 0
* rejected as having bad PSF fit: 0
---
You may change some of the filtering parameters by editing src/vast_limits.h and re-running 'make'.
6480 * detected, using 302/ 500 * for reference/current image matching, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000000, number_of_ambiguous_matches=0
Too few * matched: 49 < 2656 ! Retrying...
rotation [degrees] = 0.044
6480 stars detected, 49 stars matched
ERROR! Too few stars matched (49 < 2656) . Wrong match? Skipping file...
Processing /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-58-44_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0101.fits
9576x6388 FITS image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-58-44_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0101.fits
Trying to guess the time system by parsing the comment string 'Time of observation (UTC)'
Time system set from the comment to DATE-OBS keyword: 'Time of observation (UTC)'
The input time system is identified as: UTC (blank if unknown)
Setting observation date using DATE-OBS keyword: 2026-02-27T05:58:44.0658560
Setting observation time using DATE-OBS keyword: 2026-02-27T05:58:44.0658560
Observing time converted to the "standard" FITS header format:
DATE-OBS= 2026-02-27T05:58:44.065
EXPTIME = 20.000
Using the catalog image00004.cat SExtracted earlier from the image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-58-44_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0101.fits
SExtractor output filtering results:
* passed selection: 6474
* rejected as having no flux measurement: 0
* rejected as having SNR<3.0: 0
* rejected inside rectangles defined in bad_region.lst: 0
* rejected close to frame edge: 26
* rejected as being too small (<1.6 pix): 0
* rejected as being too large (>6.4 pix): 0
* rejected as outliers in mag-size plot: 0
* rejected as having SExtractor flags > 99 and <= 7: 0
* rejected as having hopelessly bad SExtractor flags (>7): 0
* rejected due to an external image flag: 0
* rejected as having bad PSF fit: 0
---
You may change some of the filtering parameters by editing src/vast_limits.h and re-running 'make'.
6474 * detected, using 302/ 500 * for reference/current image matching, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000000, number_of_ambiguous_matches=0
Too few * matched: 47 < 2654 ! Retrying...
rotation [degrees] = -14.385
6474 stars detected, 47 stars matched
ERROR! Too few stars matched (47 < 2654) . Wrong match? Skipping file...
TIMING matching_and_photometry: 0 seconds
Done with measurements! =)
Total number of measurements 21449 (21449 measurements stored in RAM)
Freeing up some memory... Sorting the measurements cached in memory...
Writing lightcurve (outNNNNN.dat) files...
TIMING lightcurve_write: 0 seconds
The lightcurve files have been written, freeing up more memory...
Creating vast_image_details.log ...
Writing summary file: vast_summary.log ... OK
Selecting the best aperture for each source
Aperture with index 0 (REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER +0.00*REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER) seems best for 2808 stars
Aperture with index 1 (REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER +0.00*REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER) seems best for 0 stars
Aperture with index 2 (REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER -0.10*REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER) seems best for 2840 stars
Aperture with index 3 (REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER +0.10*REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER) seems best for 1156 stars
Aperture with index 4 (REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER +0.20*REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER) seems best for 1246 stars
Aperture with index 5 (REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER +0.30*REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER) seems best for 2184 stars
done! =)
TIMING select_aperture: 1 seconds
WARNING: Can't open candidates-transients.lst for reading! -- No candidates found?
Non-zero exit code of lib/transient_list
ERROR running lib/create_list_of_candidate_transients.sh
Computing lightcurve statistics... Will not compute variability indexes for objects having <1 points in lightcurve
You may disable this by commenting out the line '#define DROP_LIGHTCURVES_WITH_SMALL_NUMBER_OF_POINTS_FROM_ALL_PLOTS' in src/vast_limits.h an re-compiling VaST with 'make'
Computing, please wait a bit
.....................................................................................................
vast_lightcurve_statistics.log: 10133 objects, the longest string is 384 bytes.
Allocating memory for resorting the file.
Variability index idx00_STD is enabled
Variability index idx01_wSTD is enabled
Variability index idx08_Npts is enabled
Variability index idx09_MAD is enabled
Variability index idx11_RoMS is enabled
Variability index idx12_rCh2 is enabled
Variability index idx17_Jtim is enabled
Variability index idx18_Ltim is enabled
Variability index idx21_eta is enabled
Variability index idx23_S_B is enabled
Variability index idx25_IQR is enabled
Computing the expected values of variability indexes and their scatter as a function of magnitude
..........
..........
..........
..........
Wriring the list of candidate variables to vast_autocandidates.log .........................................................
----***** VaST processing WARNING *****----
You asked VaST to process 4 images, but only 1 were actually matched to the reference one.
Please investigate this!
**************************************************************
This error might be a bug, but it is far more likely that it is caused by
inappropriate input data. A few simple things to check in the diagnostic
messages printed above (or the vast*.log files):
* How many of the input images are matched?
* Does the number of detected stars on each image look reasonable?
* Do images have a sufficient overlap of at least about 41 percent?
You may run
./sextract_single_image /path/to/my/image/file.fit
to see how well VaST detects stars with the current SExtractor settings
(star detection settings can be changed in the default.sex configuration
file, see various examples in the VaST directory).
If you cannot identify the problem, please e-mail Kirill Sokolovsky
Please try to describe the problem in details and, if possible, attach vast_summary.log
file and a few example images. If the images are too big to be sent by e-mail, please
upload them through a web-form http://scan.sai.msu.ru/upload/
**************************************************************
Low percentage of matched images - we'll declare this an unsuccessful VaST run (exit code 1)
_____________________
wait
*------ default.sex.telephoto_lens_vSTL ------*
'default.sex.telephoto_lens_vSTL' -> 'default.sex'
Starting VaST with default.sex.telephoto_lens_vSTL
./vast --norotation --noflagimage --starmatchraius 3.5 --matchstarnumber 500 --selectbestaperture --sysrem 0 --type 4 --maxsextractorflag 99 --UTC --nofind --nojdkeyword /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-00-21_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0526.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-01-03_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0527.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-57-56_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0100.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-58-44_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0101.fits
Last image: 2461098.74868341 27.02.2026 05:57:56.247 UTC
ERROR running VaST on the field Cam-02-Q2b1x1 (wrong field? clouds? very bad focus? -- transient_factory_test31.txt)
____ VaST output ____
--==VaST 1.0rc89==--
Parsing command line arguments...
opt 'r': assuming no rotation larger than 15.0 degrees!
opt 'F': Will NOT create flag images for SExtractor
opt '5': 3.500000 pix is the new fixed star matching radius!
opt 'b': Using 500 reference stars for image matching!
opt '3': Will try to select best aperture for each source!
opt 'y': 0 SysRem iterations will be conducted!
opt 't 4': robust linear magnitude calibration (vary zero-point and slope)
opt 'x': 99 is the maximum acceptable SExtractor flag!
WARNING: disabling the mag-size filter in order not to reject blended stars.
opt 'u': Stick with UTC time system, no conversion to TT will be done!
opt 'f': Run ./find_candidates manually!
opt 'k': "JD" keyword in FITS image header will be ignored!
INFO from vast_remove_directory(): Could not open directory: symlinks_to_images
INFO from vast_remove_directory(): Could not open directory: converted_images
INFO from vast_remove_directory(): Could not open directory: unpacked_images
Checking the list of input images specified on the command line ...
WARNING from replace_file_with_symlink_if_filename_contains_white_spaces() the input file /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-00-21_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0526.fits is already a symlink and we do not allow symlinks on symlinks
WARNING from replace_file_with_symlink_if_filename_contains_white_spaces() the input file /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-01-03_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0527.fits is already a symlink and we do not allow symlinks on symlinks
Looking for the list of input images with time corrections in vast_list_of_input_images_with_time_corrections.txt ... list not found.
This is OK if you specify the input images on the command line, not through this text file.
Checking write permissions for the current directory (/data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir/vast_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J)... OK
Found a system-wide installation of SExtractor
Cleaning old outNNNNN.dat files.
Done with cleaning!
VaST was started with the following command line:
./vast --norotation --noflagimage --starmatchraius 3.5 --matchstarnumber 500 --selectbestaperture --sysrem 0 --type 4 --maxsextractorflag 99 --UTC --nofind --nojdkeyword /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-00-21_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0526.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-01-03_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0527.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-57-56_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0100.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-58-44_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0101.fits
Preparing to process 4 input FITS images...
######## Forcing special settings for the transient detection ########
transient search mode: disabling the mag-size filter as it should be switched off when running a transient search!
transient search mode: disabling the bad image filter as it will not help during the transient search!
transient search mode: will not try to gues image saturation limit
transient search mode: no UTC-to-TT time system conversion will be performed!!!
transient search mode: setting the maximum acceptable SExtractor flag to 3
transient search mode: disabling rejectin of images with elliptical stars
transient search mode: not discarding large sources
################
Setting the fixed star match radius of 3.50 pix
We have 4 images to process.
The number of processor cores determined from /proc/cpuinfo is 24.
Running SExtractor in 4 parallel threads...
The gain value (GAIN=0.830) from default.sex will be used for image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-00-21_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0526.fits
The above guess is based on the non-default gain value specified in default.sex by user
autodetect_aperture() is running SExtractor on /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-00-21_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0526.fits
autodetect_aperture() is doing a preliminary SExtractor run to determine an appropriate aperture size
sex -c default.sex -PARAMETERS_NAME autodetect_aper.param -CATALOG_NAME autodetect_aper_image00001.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-00-21_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0526.fits > image00001.cat.sex_log 2>&1
The gain value (GAIN=0.830) from default.sex will be used for image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-01-03_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0527.fits
The above guess is based on the non-default gain value specified in default.sex by user
The gain value (GAIN=0.830) from default.sex will be used for image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-57-56_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0100.fits
The above guess is based on the non-default gain value specified in default.sex by user
autodetect_aperture() is running SExtractor on /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-01-03_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0527.fits
autodetect_aperture() is doing a preliminary SExtractor run to determine an appropriate aperture size
sex -c default.sex -PARAMETERS_NAME autodetect_aper.param -CATALOG_NAME autodetect_aper_image00002.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-01-03_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0527.fits > image00002.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is running SExtractor on /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-57-56_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0100.fits
autodetect_aperture() is doing a preliminary SExtractor run to determine an appropriate aperture size
sex -c default.sex -PARAMETERS_NAME autodetect_aper.param -CATALOG_NAME autodetect_aper_image00003.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-57-56_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0100.fits > image00003.cat.sex_log 2>&1
The gain value (GAIN=0.830) from default.sex will be used for image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-58-44_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0101.fits
The above guess is based on the non-default gain value specified in default.sex by user
autodetect_aperture() is running SExtractor on /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-58-44_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0101.fits
autodetect_aperture() is doing a preliminary SExtractor run to determine an appropriate aperture size
sex -c default.sex -PARAMETERS_NAME autodetect_aper.param -CATALOG_NAME autodetect_aper_image00004.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-58-44_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0101.fits > image00004.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is doing the main SExtractor run
sex -PARAMETERS_NAME default.param -PHOT_APERTURES 4.9,4.9,4.4,5.4,5.8,6.3 -VERBOSE_TYPE NORMAL -CATALOG_NAME image00004.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-58-44_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0101.fits > image00004.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is doing the main SExtractor run
sex -PARAMETERS_NAME default.param -PHOT_APERTURES 4.9,4.9,4.4,5.3,5.8,6.3 -VERBOSE_TYPE NORMAL -CATALOG_NAME image00003.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-57-56_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0100.fits > image00003.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is doing the main SExtractor run
sex -PARAMETERS_NAME default.param -PHOT_APERTURES 5.0,5.0,4.5,5.5,6.0,6.5 -VERBOSE_TYPE NORMAL -CATALOG_NAME image00002.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-01-03_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0527.fits > image00002.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is doing the main SExtractor run
sex -PARAMETERS_NAME default.param -PHOT_APERTURES 5.0,5.0,4.5,5.5,6.0,6.5 -VERBOSE_TYPE NORMAL -CATALOG_NAME image00001.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-00-21_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0526.fits > image00001.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is done with image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-58-44_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0101.fits
Parent process says: we are done fork()ing.
Waiting for thread 3 to finish...
autodetect_aperture() is done with image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-57-56_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0100.fits
Waiting for thread 2 to finish...
autodetect_aperture() is done with image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-01-03_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0527.fits
Waiting for thread 1 to finish...
autodetect_aperture() is done with image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-00-21_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0526.fits
Done with SExtractor!
TIMING SExtractor: 18 seconds
Matching stars between images!
No manually selected comparison stars file manually_selected_comparison_stars.lst which is fine.
Processing /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-00-21_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0526.fits
9576x6388 FITS image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-00-21_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0526.fits
Trying to guess the time system by parsing the comment string 'Time of observation (UTC)'
Time system set from the comment to DATE-OBS keyword: 'Time of observation (UTC)'
The input time system is identified as: UTC (blank if unknown)
Setting observation date using DATE-OBS keyword: 2025-12-23T10:00:21.7044890
Setting observation time using DATE-OBS keyword: 2025-12-23T10:00:21.7044890
Observing time converted to the "standard" FITS header format:
DATE-OBS= 2025-12-23T10:00:21.704
EXPTIME = 20.000
Using the catalog image00001.cat SExtracted earlier from the image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2025-12-23_04-00-21_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0526.fits
Exposure 20 sec, 23.12.2025 10:00:21.704 UTC = JD(UTC) 2461032.91703361 mid. exp.
SExtractor output filtering results:
* passed selection: 57142, (57140 good for image matching)
* rejected as having no flux measurement: 0
* rejected as having SNR<3.0: 10
* rejected inside rectangles defined in bad_region.lst: 0
* rejected close to frame edge: 304
* rejected as being too small (<1.2 pix): 0
* rejected as being too large (>5.0 pix): 0
* rejected as outliers in mag-size plot: 0
* rejected as having SExtractor flags > 99 and <= 7: 0
* rejected as having hopelessly bad SExtractor flags (>7): 35
* rejected due to an external image flag: 0
* rejected as having bad PSF fit: 0
---
You may change some of the filtering parameters by editing src/vast_limits.h and re-running 'make'.
Please note: the CCD position-dependent magnitude correction will be applied.
get_detection_limit_sn(): Detection limit: -7.40
Detection limit from the magnitude-SNR relation= -7.4 (5.0 sigma detection)
The simple faintest star detection limit= -6.7
80 percent brightest stars detection limit= -8.0
Selected detection limit= -8.0
Final detection limit= -8.0 (after subtracting MAG_TRANSIENT_ABOVE_THE_REFERENCE_FRAME_LIMIT=0.0)
Parameter box for transient search: 10.05.0 pix): 0
* rejected as outliers in mag-size plot: 0
* rejected as having SExtractor flags > 99 and <= 7: 0
* rejected as having hopelessly bad SExtractor flags (>7): 28
* rejected due to an external image flag: 0
* rejected as having bad PSF fit: 0
---
You may change some of the filtering parameters by editing src/vast_limits.h and re-running 'make'.
57400 * detected, using 502/ 500 * for reference/current image matching, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.001516, number_of_ambiguous_matches=87
refining the coordinate transformation... fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.001481, number_of_ambiguous_matches=85
53087 * matched, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.001481, number_of_ambiguous_matches=85
53087 * matched (2nd iteration). fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.001481, number_of_ambiguous_matches=85
53087 * matched (3rd iteration). Success!
rotation [degrees] = 0.007
57400 stars detected, 53087 stars matched
Performing magnitude calibration using automatically selected comparison stars
Expecting to find at least 40 * for magnitude calibration
We have N_good_stars = 50184, N_manually_selected_comparison_stars = 0
Using 50184 stars for magnitude calibration (before filtering).
Iteratively removing outliers from the linear mag-mag relation (unweighted fit)...
After removing outliers in (X,Y,dm) plane, we are left with 50183 stars for magnitude calibration.
Using the linear CCD position-dependent magnitude correction:
delta_m = -0.00000*X_pix -0.00000*Y_pix +0.00068
Iteratively removing outliers from the mag-mag relation (weighted linear/polynomial fit)...
Computing robust linear magnitude calibration.
Used 48060 stars for magnitude calibration (after filtering).
get_detection_limit_sn(): Detection limit: -7.40
61455 objects stored in memory (400000 max.)
Magnitude calibration is performed successfully!
Saving observations to the cache... OK
memory: 139428 kB used, 154644 kB peak, 65263848 kB available RAM
processed 2 of 4 images ( 50.0%)
Processing /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-57-56_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0100.fits
9576x6388 FITS image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-57-56_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0100.fits
Trying to guess the time system by parsing the comment string 'Time of observation (UTC)'
Time system set from the comment to DATE-OBS keyword: 'Time of observation (UTC)'
The input time system is identified as: UTC (blank if unknown)
Setting observation date using DATE-OBS keyword: 2026-02-27T05:57:56.2477271
Setting observation time using DATE-OBS keyword: 2026-02-27T05:57:56.2477271
Observing time converted to the "standard" FITS header format:
DATE-OBS= 2026-02-27T05:57:56.247
EXPTIME = 20.000
Using the catalog image00003.cat SExtracted earlier from the image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-57-56_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0100.fits
SExtractor output filtering results:
* passed selection: 41758
* rejected as having no flux measurement: 0
* rejected as having SNR<3.0: 18
* rejected inside rectangles defined in bad_region.lst: 0
* rejected close to frame edge: 202
* rejected as being too small (<1.2 pix): 0
* rejected as being too large (>4.9 pix): 0
* rejected as outliers in mag-size plot: 0
* rejected as having SExtractor flags > 99 and <= 7: 0
* rejected as having hopelessly bad SExtractor flags (>7): 137
* rejected due to an external image flag: 0
* rejected as having bad PSF fit: 0
---
You may change some of the filtering parameters by editing src/vast_limits.h and re-running 'make'.
41758 * detected, using 365/ 500 * for reference/current image matching, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000293, number_of_ambiguous_matches=18
Too few * matched: 1285 < 17120 ! Retrying...
rotation [degrees] = -0.472
41758 stars detected, 1285 stars matched
ERROR! Too few stars matched (1285 < 17120) . Wrong match? Skipping file...
Processing /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-58-44_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0101.fits
9576x6388 FITS image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-58-44_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0101.fits
Trying to guess the time system by parsing the comment string 'Time of observation (UTC)'
Time system set from the comment to DATE-OBS keyword: 'Time of observation (UTC)'
The input time system is identified as: UTC (blank if unknown)
Setting observation date using DATE-OBS keyword: 2026-02-27T05:58:44.0658560
Setting observation time using DATE-OBS keyword: 2026-02-27T05:58:44.0658560
Observing time converted to the "standard" FITS header format:
DATE-OBS= 2026-02-27T05:58:44.065
EXPTIME = 20.000
Using the catalog image00004.cat SExtracted earlier from the image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Cam-02-Q2b1x1_012315_TTUQ2b1x1_32641_OjxW8j5J/Cam-02-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-58-44_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0101.fits
SExtractor output filtering results:
* passed selection: 41681
* rejected as having no flux measurement: 0
* rejected as having SNR<3.0: 22
* rejected inside rectangles defined in bad_region.lst: 0
* rejected close to frame edge: 218
* rejected as being too small (<1.2 pix): 0
* rejected as being too large (>4.9 pix): 0
* rejected as outliers in mag-size plot: 0
* rejected as having SExtractor flags > 99 and <= 7: 0
* rejected as having hopelessly bad SExtractor flags (>7): 110
* rejected due to an external image flag: 0
* rejected as having bad PSF fit: 0
---
You may change some of the filtering parameters by editing src/vast_limits.h and re-running 'make'.
41681 * detected, using 364/ 500 * for reference/current image matching, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000325, number_of_ambiguous_matches=20
Too few * matched: 1383 < 17089 ! Retrying...
rotation [degrees] = -13.739
41681 stars detected, 1383 stars matched
ERROR! Too few stars matched (1383 < 17089) . Wrong match? Skipping file...
TIMING matching_and_photometry: 1 seconds
Done with measurements! =)
Total number of measurements 114542 (114542 measurements stored in RAM)
Freeing up some memory... Sorting the measurements cached in memory...
Writing lightcurve (outNNNNN.dat) files...
TIMING lightcurve_write: 1 seconds
The lightcurve files have been written, freeing up more memory...
Creating vast_image_details.log ...
Writing summary file: vast_summary.log ... OK
Selecting the best aperture for each source
Aperture with index 0 (REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER +0.00*REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER) seems best for 10064 stars
Aperture with index 1 (REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER +0.00*REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER) seems best for 0 stars
Aperture with index 2 (REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER -0.10*REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER) seems best for 14648 stars
Aperture with index 3 (REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER +0.10*REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER) seems best for 8839 stars
Aperture with index 4 (REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER +0.20*REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER) seems best for 6610 stars
Aperture with index 5 (REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER +0.30*REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER) seems best for 12926 stars
done! =)
TIMING select_aperture: 2 seconds
WARNING: Can't open candidates-transients.lst for reading! -- No candidates found?
Non-zero exit code of lib/transient_list
ERROR running lib/create_list_of_candidate_transients.sh
Computing lightcurve statistics... Will not compute variability indexes for objects having <1 points in lightcurve
You may disable this by commenting out the line '#define DROP_LIGHTCURVES_WITH_SMALL_NUMBER_OF_POINTS_FROM_ALL_PLOTS' in src/vast_limits.h an re-compiling VaST with 'make'
Computing, please wait a bit
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
vast_lightcurve_statistics.log: 52817 objects, the longest string is 383 bytes.
Allocating memory for resorting the file.
Variability index idx00_STD is enabled
Variability index idx01_wSTD is enabled
Variability index idx08_Npts is enabled
Variability index idx09_MAD is enabled
Variability index idx11_RoMS is enabled
Variability index idx12_rCh2 is enabled
Variability index idx17_Jtim is enabled
Variability index idx18_Ltim is enabled
Variability index idx21_eta is enabled
Variability index idx23_S_B is enabled
Variability index idx25_IQR is enabled
Computing the expected values of variability indexes and their scatter as a function of magnitude
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Wriring the list of candidate variables to vast_autocandidates.log .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
----***** VaST processing WARNING *****----
You asked VaST to process 4 images, but only 1 were actually matched to the reference one.
Please investigate this!
**************************************************************
This error might be a bug, but it is far more likely that it is caused by
inappropriate input data. A few simple things to check in the diagnostic
messages printed above (or the vast*.log files):
* How many of the input images are matched?
* Does the number of detected stars on each image look reasonable?
* Do images have a sufficient overlap of at least about 41 percent?
You may run
./sextract_single_image /path/to/my/image/file.fit
to see how well VaST detects stars with the current SExtractor settings
(star detection settings can be changed in the default.sex configuration
file, see various examples in the VaST directory).
If you cannot identify the problem, please e-mail Kirill Sokolovsky
Please try to describe the problem in details and, if possible, attach vast_summary.log
file and a few example images. If the images are too big to be sent by e-mail, please
upload them through a web-form http://scan.sai.msu.ru/upload/
**************************************************************
Low percentage of matched images - we'll declare this an unsuccessful VaST run (exit code 1)
_____________________
########### Completed Cam-02-Q2b1x1 ###########
The analysis was running at tau
We are allowed to update the exclusion list at tau host
Found ../exclusion_list_TTUQ2.txt
#### The exclusion list before filtering-out asteroids, bad pixels and adding Gaia sources ####
###################################################################################
renamed 'exclusion_list_index_html.txt_noasteroids' -> 'exclusion_list_index_html.txt'
renamed 'exclusion_list_index_html.txt_nohotpixels' -> 'exclusion_list_index_html.txt'
# Count candidates with no identification (that also don't look like hot pix)
Found 0 unidentified candidates (excluding asteroids, hot pixels and known variable stars).
###################################################################################
0 candidates found (excluding asteroids and hot pixels)
This does not look like a test run
###################################################################################
exclusion_list_gaiadr2.txt NOT FOUND
exclusion_list_apass.txt NOT FOUND
IS_THIS_TEST_RUN=NO ALLOW_EXCLUSION_LIST_UPDATE= YES
#### Nothing to add to the exclusion list ####
The observatory MPC code is 500
############################################################
ls: cannot access 'planets.txt': No such file or directory
############################################################
Positions of selected moons from JPL HORIZONS for JD(UT):
ls: cannot access 'moons.txt': No such file or directory
############################################################
Positions of selected spacecraft from JPL HORIZONS for JD(UT):
ls: cannot access 'spacecraft.txt': No such file or directory
############################################################
ls: cannot access 'comets.txt': No such file or directory
############################################################
List of recent ASAS-SN transients from https://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/asassn/transients.html :
ls: cannot access 'asassn_transients_list.txt': No such file or directory
############################################################
Truncated list of TOCP transients from http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/unconf/tocp.html :
ls: cannot access 'tocp_transients_list.txt': No such file or directory