ERROR running VaST on the field Dra-01-Q2b1x1 (wrong field? clouds? very bad focus?)
ERROR running VaST on the field Dra-01-Q2b1x1 (wrong field? clouds? very bad focus?)

######## 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: 
Dra-01-Q2b1x1
#######################################
########### Starting Dra-01-Q2b1x1 ###########
Processing Dra-01-Q2b1x1
server tau has sufficient free disk space available: 758392 MB at /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir
server tau has sufficient free disk space available: 758392 MB at .
Checking input images (2 new)
REFERENCE_EPOCH__FIRST_IMAGE= /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-02_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0016.fits
REFERENCE_EPOCH__SECOND_IMAGE= /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-37_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0017.fits
Small preview (one of the new images): 

Large previews of the second-epoch (new) images:

MAKE_PNG_PLOTS=yes


renamed 'Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-59-57_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0102.png' -> 'transient_report/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-59-57_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0102.fits_preview.png'

Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-59-57_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0102.fits


renamed 'Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-27_00-00-52_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0103.png' -> 'transient_report/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-27_00-00-52_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0103.fits_preview.png'

Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-27_00-00-52_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0103.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= 1164.2794
INFO:         REFERENCE_EPOCH__FIRST_IMAGE_SD= 601.3374
INFO:    SECOND_EPOCH__FIRST_IMAGE_MEAN_VALUE= 2329.8232
INFO:            SECOND_EPOCH__FIRST_IMAGE_SD= 712.0578
INFO:   SECOND_EPOCH__SECOND_IMAGE_MEAN_VALUE= 2328.2460
INFO:           SECOND_EPOCH__SECOND_IMAGE_SD= 711.8341
----------------------------------------------
INFO:      ref_to_second_epoch_img_mean_ratio= 2.00109
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_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-59-57_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0102.fits
SECOND_EPOCH__SECOND_IMAGE=/data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-27_00-00-52_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0103.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/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-02_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0016.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-37_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0017.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-59-57_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0102.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-27_00-00-52_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0103.fits
  
Last  image: 2461098.75009100 27.02.2026 05:59:57.862 UTC
ERROR running VaST on the field Dra-01-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/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-02_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0016.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/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-37_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0017.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_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy)...  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/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-02_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0016.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-37_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0017.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-59-57_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0102.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-27_00-00-52_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0103.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/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-02_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0016.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/reference_imgs/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-37_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0017.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/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-02_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0016.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/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-02_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0016.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/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-59-57_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0102.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_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-27_00-00-52_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0103.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_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-27_00-00-52_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0103.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_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-27_00-00-52_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0103.fits > image00004.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is running SExtractor on /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-37_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0017.fits
autodetect_aperture() is running SExtractor on /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1autodetect_aperture() is doing a preliminary SExtractor run to determine an appropriate aperture size
_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-59-57_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0102.fits
sex -c default.sex  -PARAMETERS_NAME autodetect_aper.param -CATALOG_NAME autodetect_aper_image00002.cat  /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-37_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0017.fits > image00002.cat.sex_log 2>&1
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_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-59-57_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0102.fits > image00003.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is doing the main SExtractor run
sex  -PARAMETERS_NAME default.param -PHOT_APERTURES 6.4,6.4,5.8,7.1,7.7,8.3 -VERBOSE_TYPE NORMAL -CATALOG_NAME image00004.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-27_00-00-52_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0103.fits > image00004.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is doing the main SExtractor run
sex  -PARAMETERS_NAME default.param -PHOT_APERTURES 6.4,6.4,5.8,7.1,7.7,8.3 -VERBOSE_TYPE NORMAL -CATALOG_NAME image00003.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-59-57_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0102.fits > image00003.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is doing the main SExtractor run
sex  -PARAMETERS_NAME default.param -PHOT_APERTURES 5.8,5.8,5.3,6.4,7.0,7.6 -VERBOSE_TYPE NORMAL -CATALOG_NAME image00001.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-02_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0016.fits > image00001.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is doing the main SExtractor run
sex  -PARAMETERS_NAME default.param -PHOT_APERTURES 5.9,5.9,5.3,6.5,7.1,7.7 -VERBOSE_TYPE NORMAL -CATALOG_NAME image00002.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-37_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0017.fits > image00002.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is done with image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-59-57_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0102.fits
autodetect_aperture() is done with image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-27_00-00-52_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0103.fits
Parent process says: we are done fork()ing.
Waiting for thread 3 to finish...
Waiting for thread 2 to finish...
autodetect_aperture() is done with image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-37_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0017.fits
Waiting for thread 1 to finish...
autodetect_aperture() is done with image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-02_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0016.fits


Done with SExtractor!

TIMING SExtractor: 2 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/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-02_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0016.fits
9576x6388 FITS image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-02_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0016.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: 2026-01-09T08:42:02.1041278
Setting observation time using DATE-OBS keyword: 2026-01-09T08:42:02.1041278

Observing time converted to the "standard" FITS header format:
DATE-OBS= 2026-01-09T08:42:02.104
EXPTIME = 20.000

Using the catalog image00001.cat SExtracted earlier from the image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-02_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0016.fits
Exposure 20 sec, 09.01.2026 08:42:02.104 UTC = JD(UTC) 2461049.86264009 mid. exp.
SExtractor output filtering results:
 * passed selection: 8870, (8870 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: 51
 * rejected as being too small (<1.4 pix): 0
 * rejected as being too large (>5.8 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 not be applied.
get_detection_limit_sn(): Detection limit: -7.89
Detection limit from the magnitude-SNR relation= -7.9  (5.0 sigma detection)
The simple faintest star detection limit= -10.0
80 percent brightest stars detection limit= -10.8
Selected detection limit= -10.8
Final detection limit= -10.8 (after subtracting MAG_TRANSIENT_ABOVE_THE_REFERENCE_FRAME_LIMIT=0.0)

Parameter box for transient search:    10.05.9 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): 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'.
     8977 * detected, using  506/ 500 * for reference/current image matching, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000223, number_of_ambiguous_matches=2 
refining the coordinate transformation... fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000223, number_of_ambiguous_matches=2 
8438 * matched, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000223, number_of_ambiguous_matches=2 
8438 * matched (2nd iteration). fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000223, number_of_ambiguous_matches=2 
8438 * matched (3rd iteration). Success!
  rotation [degrees] =  -0.002
     8977 stars detected,  8438 stars matched
Performing magnitude calibration using automatically selected comparison stars
Expecting to find at least 40 * for magnitude calibration
We have N_good_stars = 7822, N_manually_selected_comparison_stars = 0
Using 7822 stars for magnitude calibration (before filtering).
Iteratively removing outliers from the linear mag-mag relation (unweighted fit)...
Iteratively removing outliers from the mag-mag relation (weighted linear/polynomial fit)...
Computing robust linear magnitude calibration.
Used 7821 stars for magnitude calibration (after filtering).
get_detection_limit_sn(): Detection limit: -7.91
     9409 objects stored in memory (400000 max.)
Magnitude calibration is performed successfully!
Saving observations to the cache... OK
memory:  102728 kB used, 114488 kB peak, 65263848 kB available RAM
processed 2 of 4 images ( 50.0%)



Processing  /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-59-57_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0102.fits
9576x6388 FITS image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-59-57_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0102.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: 2026-02-27T05:59:57.8629716
Setting observation time using DATE-OBS keyword: 2026-02-27T05:59:57.8629716

Observing time converted to the "standard" FITS header format:
DATE-OBS= 2026-02-27T05:59:57.862
EXPTIME = 20.000

Using the catalog image00003.cat SExtracted earlier from the image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-59-57_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0102.fits
SExtractor output filtering results:
 * passed selection: 6544
 * 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: 34
 * 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): 2
 * 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'.
     6544 * detected, using  368/ 500 * for reference/current image matching, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000000, number_of_ambiguous_matches=0 
Too few * matched: 23 < 2683 ! Retrying...
  rotation [degrees] =  -1.336
     6544 stars detected,    23 stars matched
ERROR! Too few stars matched (23 < 2683) . Wrong match? Skipping file...



Processing  /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-27_00-00-52_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0103.fits
9576x6388 FITS image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-27_00-00-52_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0103.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: 2026-02-27T06:00:52.2682441
Setting observation time using DATE-OBS keyword: 2026-02-27T06:00:52.2682441

Observing time converted to the "standard" FITS header format:
DATE-OBS= 2026-02-27T06:00:52.268
EXPTIME = 20.000

Using the catalog image00004.cat SExtracted earlier from the image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-27_00-00-52_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0103.fits
SExtractor output filtering results:
 * passed selection: 6559
 * 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: 29
 * 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'.
     6559 * detected, using  369/ 500 * for reference/current image matching, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000000, number_of_ambiguous_matches=0 
Too few * matched: 26 < 2689 ! Retrying...
  rotation [degrees] =  -1.333
     6559 stars detected,    26 stars matched
ERROR! Too few stars matched (26 < 2689) . Wrong match? Skipping file...
TIMING matching_and_photometry: 1 seconds
Done with measurements! =)

Total number of measurements 17847 (17847 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  2227 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  2700 stars
Aperture with index 3 (REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER +0.10*REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER) seems best for  1202 stars
Aperture with index 4 (REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER +0.20*REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER) seems best for   812 stars
Aperture with index 5 (REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER +0.30*REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER) seems best for  1497 stars

done!  =)
TIMING select_aperture: 0 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: 8386 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
..........
..........
..........
..........
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/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-02_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0016.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-37_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0017.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-59-57_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0102.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-27_00-00-52_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0103.fits
  
Last  image: 2461098.75009100 27.02.2026 05:59:57.862 UTC
ERROR running VaST on the field Dra-01-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/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-02_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0016.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/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-37_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0017.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_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy)...  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/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-02_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0016.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-37_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0017.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-59-57_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0102.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-27_00-00-52_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0103.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/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-02_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0016.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/reference_imgs/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-37_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0017.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/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-02_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0016.fits
The gain value (GAIN=0.830) from default.sex will be used for image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-59-57_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0102.fits
The above guess is based on the non-default gain value specified in default.sex by user
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/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-02_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0016.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/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-27_00-00-52_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0103.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_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-59-57_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0102.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_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-59-57_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0102.fits > image00003.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is running SExtractor on /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-37_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0017.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/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-37_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0017.fits > image00002.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is running SExtractor on /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-27_00-00-52_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0103.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_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-27_00-00-52_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0103.fits > image00004.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is doing the main SExtractor run
sex  -PARAMETERS_NAME default.param -PHOT_APERTURES 4.8,4.8,4.3,5.3,5.8,6.3 -VERBOSE_TYPE NORMAL -CATALOG_NAME image00004.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-27_00-00-52_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0103.fits > image00004.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is doing the main SExtractor run
sex  -PARAMETERS_NAME default.param -PHOT_APERTURES 4.8,4.8,4.3,5.3,5.8,6.3 -VERBOSE_TYPE NORMAL -CATALOG_NAME image00003.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-59-57_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0102.fits > image00003.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is doing the main SExtractor run
sex  -PARAMETERS_NAME default.param -PHOT_APERTURES 4.7,4.7,4.2,5.1,5.6,6.1 -VERBOSE_TYPE NORMAL -CATALOG_NAME image00002.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-37_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0017.fits > image00002.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is doing the main SExtractor run
sex  -PARAMETERS_NAME default.param -PHOT_APERTURES 4.6,4.6,4.2,5.1,5.5,6.0 -VERBOSE_TYPE NORMAL -CATALOG_NAME image00001.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-02_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0016.fits > image00001.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is done with image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-59-57_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0102.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_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-27_00-00-52_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0103.fits
Waiting for thread 2 to finish...
autodetect_aperture() is done with image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-37_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0017.fits
Waiting for thread 1 to finish...
autodetect_aperture() is done with image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-02_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0016.fits


Done with SExtractor!

TIMING SExtractor: 13 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/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-02_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0016.fits
9576x6388 FITS image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-02_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0016.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: 2026-01-09T08:42:02.1041278
Setting observation time using DATE-OBS keyword: 2026-01-09T08:42:02.1041278

Observing time converted to the "standard" FITS header format:
DATE-OBS= 2026-01-09T08:42:02.104
EXPTIME = 20.000

Using the catalog image00001.cat SExtracted earlier from the image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-01-09_02-42-02_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0016.fits
Exposure 20 sec, 09.01.2026 08:42:02.104 UTC = JD(UTC) 2461049.86264009 mid. exp.
SExtractor output filtering results:
 * passed selection: 56050, (56050 good for image matching)
 * rejected as having no flux measurement: 0
 * rejected as having SNR<3.0: 8
 * rejected inside rectangles defined in bad_region.lst: 0
 * rejected close to frame edge: 269
 * rejected as being too small (<1.1 pix): 0
 * rejected as being too large (>4.6 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: -7.64
Detection limit from the magnitude-SNR relation= -7.6  (5.0 sigma detection)
The simple faintest star detection limit= -6.9
80 percent brightest stars detection limit= -8.1
Selected detection limit= -8.1
Final detection limit= -8.1 (after subtracting MAG_TRANSIENT_ABOVE_THE_REFERENCE_FRAME_LIMIT=0.0)

Parameter box for transient search:    10.04.7 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): 45
 * 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'.
    55203 * detected, using  492/ 500 * for reference/current image matching, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.001338, number_of_ambiguous_matches=75 
refining the coordinate transformation... fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.001338, number_of_ambiguous_matches=75 
51374 * matched, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.001338, number_of_ambiguous_matches=75 
51374 * matched (2nd iteration). fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.001338, number_of_ambiguous_matches=75 
51374 * matched (3rd iteration). Success!
  rotation [degrees] =  -0.002
    55203 stars detected, 51374 stars matched
Performing magnitude calibration using automatically selected comparison stars
Expecting to find at least 40 * for magnitude calibration
We have N_good_stars = 48717, N_manually_selected_comparison_stars = 0
Using 48717 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 48717 stars for magnitude calibration.
Using the linear CCD position-dependent magnitude correction:
 delta_m = 0.00000*X_pix -0.00000*Y_pix +0.00176
Iteratively removing outliers from the mag-mag relation (weighted linear/polynomial fit)...
Computing robust linear magnitude calibration.
Used 45801 stars for magnitude calibration (after filtering).
get_detection_limit_sn(): Detection limit: -7.66
    59879 objects stored in memory (400000 max.)
Magnitude calibration is performed successfully!
Saving observations to the cache... OK
memory:  138436 kB used, 153216 kB peak, 65263848 kB available RAM
processed 2 of 4 images ( 50.0%)



Processing  /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-59-57_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0102.fits
9576x6388 FITS image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-59-57_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0102.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: 2026-02-27T05:59:57.8629716
Setting observation time using DATE-OBS keyword: 2026-02-27T05:59:57.8629716

Observing time converted to the "standard" FITS header format:
DATE-OBS= 2026-02-27T05:59:57.862
EXPTIME = 20.000

Using the catalog image00003.cat SExtracted earlier from the image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-26_23-59-57_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0102.fits
SExtractor output filtering results:
 * passed selection: 42643
 * 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: 201
 * rejected as being too small (<1.2 pix): 0
 * rejected as being too large (>4.8 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'.
    42643 * detected, using  380/ 500 * for reference/current image matching, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000150, number_of_ambiguous_matches=9 
Too few * matched: 517 < 17483 ! Retrying...
  rotation [degrees] =  -1.334
    42643 stars detected,   517 stars matched
ERROR! Too few stars matched (517 < 17483) . Wrong match? Skipping file...



Processing  /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-27_00-00-52_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0103.fits
9576x6388 FITS image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-27_00-00-52_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0103.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: 2026-02-27T06:00:52.2682441
Setting observation time using DATE-OBS keyword: 2026-02-27T06:00:52.2682441

Observing time converted to the "standard" FITS header format:
DATE-OBS= 2026-02-27T06:00:52.268
EXPTIME = 20.000

Using the catalog image00004.cat SExtracted earlier from the image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-02-27_CI_Dra-01-Q2b1x1_012515_TTUQ2b1x1_1920_Ygb4MNoy/Dra-01-Q2b1x1_2026-02-27_00-00-52_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0103.fits
SExtractor output filtering results:
 * passed selection: 42513
 * rejected as having no flux measurement: 0
 * rejected as having SNR<3.0: 19
 * rejected inside rectangles defined in bad_region.lst: 0
 * rejected close to frame edge: 192
 * rejected as being too small (<1.2 pix): 0
 * rejected as being too large (>4.8 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): 126
 * 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'.
    42513 * detected, using  379/ 500 * for reference/current image matching, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000167, number_of_ambiguous_matches=10 
Too few * matched: 505 < 17430 ! Retrying...
  rotation [degrees] =  -1.332
    42513 stars detected,   505 stars matched
ERROR! Too few stars matched (505 < 17430) . Wrong match? Skipping file...
TIMING matching_and_photometry: 1 seconds
Done with measurements! =)

Total number of measurements 111253 (111253 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 11566 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 13304 stars
Aperture with index 3 (REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER +0.10*REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER) seems best for  7968 stars
Aperture with index 4 (REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER +0.20*REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER) seems best for  6614 stars
Aperture with index 5 (REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER +0.30*REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER) seems best for 11922 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: 51133 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
..........
..........
..........
..........
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 Dra-01-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

=== Transient Factory Profiling ===
Started: Fri Feb 27 01:40:06 CST 2026
=======================================
FIELD_Dra-01-Q2b1x1: 41s (0.68 min)
=======================================
TOTAL_RUNTIME: 44s (0.73 min)
Finished: Fri Feb 27 01:40:50 CST 2026