ERROR running VaST on the field Cep-01-Q2b1x1 (wrong field? clouds? very bad focus?)
ERROR running VaST on the field Cep-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= /var/www/nmw_calibration/TTUQ2b1x1/darks
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= /var/www/nmw_calibration/TTUQ2b1x1/flats/mff_TTUQ2b1x1_2026-02-21.fit
FRAME_EDGE_OFFSET_PIX= 600
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= 4
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: 
Cep-01-Q2b1x1
#######################################
########### Starting Cep-01-Q2b1x1 ###########
Processing Cep-01-Q2b1x1
server tau has sufficient free disk space available: 348174 MB at /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir
server tau has sufficient free disk space available: 348174 MB at .
Checking input images (2 new)
REFERENCE_EPOCH__FIRST_IMAGE= /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-02-54_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0151.fits
REFERENCE_EPOCH__SECOND_IMAGE= /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-03-42_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0152.fits
Small preview (one of the new images): 

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

MAKE_PNG_PLOTS=yes


renamed 'Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.png' -> 'transient_report/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.fits_preview.png'

Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.fits


renamed 'Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.png' -> 'transient_report/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.fits_preview.png'

Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.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= 658.6884
INFO:         REFERENCE_EPOCH__FIRST_IMAGE_SD= 648.4193
INFO:    SECOND_EPOCH__FIRST_IMAGE_MEAN_VALUE= 1157.0492
INFO:            SECOND_EPOCH__FIRST_IMAGE_SD= 651.0985
INFO:   SECOND_EPOCH__SECOND_IMAGE_MEAN_VALUE= 1156.9036
INFO:           SECOND_EPOCH__SECOND_IMAGE_SD= 651.2875
----------------------------------------------
INFO:      ref_to_second_epoch_img_mean_ratio= 1.7566
INFO:                  SECOND_EPOCH__SD_ratio= 0.000
----------------------------------------------
Calibration settings: DARK_FRAMES_DIR=/var/www/nmw_calibration/TTUQ2b1x1/darks FLAT_FIELD_FILE=/var/www/nmw_calibration/TTUQ2b1x1/flats/mff_TTUQ2b1x1_2026-02-21.fit
EXPTIME =                 20.0 / [s] Exposure duration
SET-TEMP=                -15.0 / [degC] CCD temperature setpoint
CCD-TEMP=                -15.0 / [degC] CCD temperature
FOCTEMP =      15.960000038147 / [degC] Focuser temperature
Exploring image header: /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.fits 
CCD-TEMP= -15.000000 for /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.fits
SET-TEMP= -15.000000 for /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.fits
Header: 67 keys total, 4 keys left
Record 0: "" status=0
Record 1: "SIMPLE  =                    T / C# FITS" status=0
Record 2: "BITPIX  =                   16" status=0
Record 3: "NAXIS   =                    2 / Dimensionality" status=0
Record 4: "NAXIS1  =                 9576" status=0
Record 5: "NAXIS2  =                 6388" status=0
Record 6: "BZERO   =                32768" status=0
Record 7: "EXTEND  =                    T / Extensions are permitted" status=0
Record 8: "IMAGETYP= 'LIGHT'              / Type of exposure" status=0
Record 9: "EXPOSURE=                 20.0 / [s] Exposure duration" status=0
Record 10: "EXPTIME =                 20.0 / [s] Exposure duration" status=0
Record 11: "DATE-LOC= '2026-03-20T00:34:05.2963763' / Time of observation (local)" status=0
Record 12: "DATE-OBS= '2026-03-20T05:34:05.2963763' / Time of observation (UTC)" status=0
Record 13: "MJD-OBS =     61119.2320057405 / Modified Julian Date of observation" status=0
Record 14: "DATE-AVG= '2026-03-20T05:34:15.1977939' / Averaged midpoint time (UTC)" status=0
Record 15: "MJD-AVG =     61119.2321203356 / Modified Julian Date of averaged midpoint" status=0
Record 16: "XBINNING=                    1 / X axis binning factor" status=0
Record 17: "YBINNING=                    1 / Y axis binning factor" status=0
Record 18: "GAIN    =                   30 / Sensor gain" status=0
Record 19: "OFFSET  =                   30 / Sensor gain offset" status=0
Record 20: "XPIXSZ  =                 3.76 / [um] Pixel X axis size" status=0
Record 21: "YPIXSZ  =                 3.76 / [um] Pixel Y axis size" status=0
Record 22: "INSTRUME= 'QHY600M'            / Imaging instrument name" status=0
Record 23: "CAMERAID= 'QHY600M-84137c4dbbbd119a9' / Imaging instrument identifier" status=0
Record 24: "SET-TEMP=                -15.0 / [degC] CCD temperature setpoint" status=0
Record 25: "CCD-TEMP=                -15.0 / [degC] CCD temperature" status=0
Record 26: "READOUTM= '2CMS-0'             / Sensor readout mode" status=0
Record 27: "USBLIMIT=                   50 / Camera-specific USB setting" status=0
Record 28: "TELESCOP= 'QHY600M-TTU2'       / Name of telescope" status=0
Record 29: "FOCALLEN=                135.0 / [mm] Focal length" status=0
Record 30: "FOCRATIO=                  2.2 / Focal ratio" status=0
Record 31: "RA      =     8.13139420773399 / [deg] RA of telescope" status=0
Record 32: "DEC     =     87.2976705408889 / [deg] Declination of telescope" status=0
Record 33: "CENTALT =     31.5113888888889 / [deg] Altitude of telescope" status=0
Record 34: "CENTAZ  =     358.530833333333 / [deg] Azimuth of telescope" status=0
Record 35: "AIRMASS =     1.90839985951464 / Airmass at frame center (Gueymard 1993)" status=0
Record 36: "PIERSIDE= 'East'               / Telescope pointing state" status=0
Record 37: "SITEELEV=               1009.5 / [m] Observation site elevation" status=0
Record 38: "SITELAT =           33.7482925 / [deg] Observation site latitude" status=0
Record 39: "SITELONG=          -101.958319 / [deg] Observation site longitude" status=0
Record 40: "OBSERVER= 'Sokolovsky'         / Observer name" status=0
Record 41: "OBSERVAT= 'TTU Skyview'        / Observatory name" status=0
Record 42: "SITENAME= ''                   / Observatory site name" status=0
Record 43: "FWHEEL  = 'Simulator'          / Filter Wheel name" status=0
Record 44: "FILTER  = 'CV'                 / Active filter name" status=0
Record 45: "OBJECT  = 'Cep-01'             / Name of the object of interest" status=0
Record 46: "OBJCTRA = '00 00 00'           / [H M S] RA of imaged object" status=0
Record 47: "OBJCTDEC= '+85 00 00'          / [D M S] Declination of imaged object" status=0
Record 48: "OBJCTROT=                  0.0 / [deg] planned rotation of imaged object" status=0
Record 49: "FOCNAME = 'ZWO Focuser'        / Focusing equipment name" status=0
Record 50: "FOCPOS  =                21939 / [step] Focuser position" status=0
Record 51: "FOCUSPOS=                21939 / [step] Focuser position" status=0
Record 52: "FOCUSSZ =                  0.0 / [um] Focuser step size" status=0
Record 53: "FOCTEMP =      15.960000038147 / [degC] Focuser temperature" status=0
Record 54: "FOCUSTEM=      15.960000038147 / [degC] Focuser temperature" status=0
Record 55: "ROWORDER= 'TOP-DOWN'           / FITS Image Orientation" status=0
Record 56: "EQUINOX =               2000.0 / Equinox of celestial coordinate system" status=0
Record 57: "SWCREATE= 'N.I.N.A. 3.2.0.9001 (x64)' / Software that created this file" status=0
Record 58: "QHY_EXP =            20.000096 / [s] Actual exposure time" status=0
Record 59: "QHY_PP  =              13888.0 / [ps] pixelPeriod" status=0
Record 60: "QHY_LP  =              85000.0 / [ns] linePeriod" status=0
Record 61: "GPS_LP  =              85000.0 / [ns] linePeriod" status=0
Record 62: "QHY_FP  =           20000160.0 / [us] framePeriod" status=0
Record 63: "QHY_CPL =               6120.0 / clocksPerLine" status=0
Record 64: "QHY_LPF =             235295.0 / linesPerFrame" status=0
Record 65: "QHY_AET =           20000096.0 / [us] actualExposureTime" status=0
Record 66: "QHY_LEM =                    T / isLongExposureMode" status=0
Record 67: "QHY_OFF0=             3767.777 / [us] RollingShutterEndOffset row 0" status=0
Allocating memory for image, dark and result arrays...
Reading image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.fits 9576 6388  16 bitpix
SET-TEMP= -15.000000 for /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.fits
SET-TEMP= -15.000000 for /var/www/nmw_calibration/TTUQ2b1x1/darks/mdark_TTUQ2b1x1_-15C_20s_2026-02-21.fit
CCD-TEMP= -15.000000 for /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.fits
CCD-TEMP= -14.900000 for /var/www/nmw_calibration/TTUQ2b1x1/darks/mdark_TTUQ2b1x1_-15C_20s_2026-02-21.fit
Reading dark frame /var/www/nmw_calibration/TTUQ2b1x1/darks/mdark_TTUQ2b1x1_-15C_20s_2026-02-21.fit 9576 6388  16 bitpix
Dark frame is subtracted, output is written to /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/d_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.fits :)

Spent 0.479552 seconds 
renamed 'mdark_TTUQ2b1x1_-15C_20s_2026-02-21.png' -> 'transient_report/dark.png'
MegaDivider v7
Reading image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/d_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.fits 9576 6388  16 bitpix
Reading flat /var/www/nmw_calibration/TTUQ2b1x1/flats/mff_TTUQ2b1x1_2026-02-21.fit 9576 6388  16 bitpix
Avarage count on flat field image: 24427.345723
Minimal real count (from overscan): 5
Output is written to /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.fits :)


No overscan detected - all values seem high! (left_median=17731.5, right_median=15896.5)
renamed 'mff_TTUQ2b1x1_2026-02-21.png' -> 'transient_report/flat.png'
Using calibrated image CALIBRATED_SECOND_EPOCH__FIRST_IMAGE=/data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.fits
EXPTIME =                 20.0 / [s] Exposure duration
SET-TEMP=                -15.0 / [degC] CCD temperature setpoint
CCD-TEMP=                -14.9 / [degC] CCD temperature
FOCTEMP =     16.1200008392334 / [degC] Focuser temperature
Exploring image header: /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.fits 
CCD-TEMP= -14.900000 for /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.fits
SET-TEMP= -15.000000 for /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.fits
Header: 67 keys total, 4 keys left
Record 0: "" status=0
Record 1: "SIMPLE  =                    T / C# FITS" status=0
Record 2: "BITPIX  =                   16" status=0
Record 3: "NAXIS   =                    2 / Dimensionality" status=0
Record 4: "NAXIS1  =                 9576" status=0
Record 5: "NAXIS2  =                 6388" status=0
Record 6: "BZERO   =                32768" status=0
Record 7: "EXTEND  =                    T / Extensions are permitted" status=0
Record 8: "IMAGETYP= 'LIGHT'              / Type of exposure" status=0
Record 9: "EXPOSURE=                 20.0 / [s] Exposure duration" status=0
Record 10: "EXPTIME =                 20.0 / [s] Exposure duration" status=0
Record 11: "DATE-LOC= '2026-03-20T00:34:52.6228988' / Time of observation (local)" status=0
Record 12: "DATE-OBS= '2026-03-20T05:34:52.6228988' / Time of observation (UTC)" status=0
Record 13: "MJD-OBS =     61119.2325534956 / Modified Julian Date of observation" status=0
Record 14: "DATE-AVG= '2026-03-20T05:35:02.5268808' / Averaged midpoint time (UTC)" status=0
Record 15: "MJD-AVG =     61119.2326681251 / Modified Julian Date of averaged midpoint" status=0
Record 16: "XBINNING=                    1 / X axis binning factor" status=0
Record 17: "YBINNING=                    1 / Y axis binning factor" status=0
Record 18: "GAIN    =                   30 / Sensor gain" status=0
Record 19: "OFFSET  =                   30 / Sensor gain offset" status=0
Record 20: "XPIXSZ  =                 3.76 / [um] Pixel X axis size" status=0
Record 21: "YPIXSZ  =                 3.76 / [um] Pixel Y axis size" status=0
Record 22: "INSTRUME= 'QHY600M'            / Imaging instrument name" status=0
Record 23: "CAMERAID= 'QHY600M-84137c4dbbbd119a9' / Imaging instrument identifier" status=0
Record 24: "SET-TEMP=                -15.0 / [degC] CCD temperature setpoint" status=0
Record 25: "CCD-TEMP=                -14.9 / [degC] CCD temperature" status=0
Record 26: "READOUTM= '2CMS-0'             / Sensor readout mode" status=0
Record 27: "USBLIMIT=                   50 / Camera-specific USB setting" status=0
Record 28: "TELESCOP= 'QHY600M-TTU2'       / Name of telescope" status=0
Record 29: "FOCALLEN=                135.0 / [mm] Focal length" status=0
Record 30: "FOCRATIO=                  2.2 / Focal ratio" status=0
Record 31: "RA      =     8.13139426082077 / [deg] RA of telescope" status=0
Record 32: "DEC     =     87.2976705936397 / [deg] Declination of telescope" status=0
Record 33: "CENTALT =     31.5072222222222 / [deg] Altitude of telescope" status=0
Record 34: "CENTAZ  =     358.539722222222 / [deg] Azimuth of telescope" status=0
Record 35: "AIRMASS =     1.90862465802753 / Airmass at frame center (Gueymard 1993)" status=0
Record 36: "PIERSIDE= 'East'               / Telescope pointing state" status=0
Record 37: "SITEELEV=               1009.5 / [m] Observation site elevation" status=0
Record 38: "SITELAT =           33.7482925 / [deg] Observation site latitude" status=0
Record 39: "SITELONG=          -101.958319 / [deg] Observation site longitude" status=0
Record 40: "OBSERVER= 'Sokolovsky'         / Observer name" status=0
Record 41: "OBSERVAT= 'TTU Skyview'        / Observatory name" status=0
Record 42: "SITENAME= ''                   / Observatory site name" status=0
Record 43: "FWHEEL  = 'Simulator'          / Filter Wheel name" status=0
Record 44: "FILTER  = 'CV'                 / Active filter name" status=0
Record 45: "OBJECT  = 'Cep-01'             / Name of the object of interest" status=0
Record 46: "OBJCTRA = '00 00 00'           / [H M S] RA of imaged object" status=0
Record 47: "OBJCTDEC= '+85 00 00'          / [D M S] Declination of imaged object" status=0
Record 48: "OBJCTROT=                  0.0 / [deg] planned rotation of imaged object" status=0
Record 49: "FOCNAME = 'ZWO Focuser'        / Focusing equipment name" status=0
Record 50: "FOCPOS  =                21939 / [step] Focuser position" status=0
Record 51: "FOCUSPOS=                21939 / [step] Focuser position" status=0
Record 52: "FOCUSSZ =                  0.0 / [um] Focuser step size" status=0
Record 53: "FOCTEMP =     16.1200008392334 / [degC] Focuser temperature" status=0
Record 54: "FOCUSTEM=     16.1200008392334 / [degC] Focuser temperature" status=0
Record 55: "ROWORDER= 'TOP-DOWN'           / FITS Image Orientation" status=0
Record 56: "EQUINOX =               2000.0 / Equinox of celestial coordinate system" status=0
Record 57: "SWCREATE= 'N.I.N.A. 3.2.0.9001 (x64)' / Software that created this file" status=0
Record 58: "QHY_EXP =            20.000096 / [s] Actual exposure time" status=0
Record 59: "QHY_PP  =              13888.0 / [ps] pixelPeriod" status=0
Record 60: "QHY_LP  =              85000.0 / [ns] linePeriod" status=0
Record 61: "GPS_LP  =              85000.0 / [ns] linePeriod" status=0
Record 62: "QHY_FP  =           20000160.0 / [us] framePeriod" status=0
Record 63: "QHY_CPL =               6120.0 / clocksPerLine" status=0
Record 64: "QHY_LPF =             235295.0 / linesPerFrame" status=0
Record 65: "QHY_AET =           20000096.0 / [us] actualExposureTime" status=0
Record 66: "QHY_LEM =                    T / isLongExposureMode" status=0
Record 67: "QHY_OFF0=             3767.777 / [us] RollingShutterEndOffset row 0" status=0
Allocating memory for image, dark and result arrays...
Reading image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.fits 9576 6388  16 bitpix
SET-TEMP= -15.000000 for /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.fits
SET-TEMP= -15.000000 for /var/www/nmw_calibration/TTUQ2b1x1/darks/mdark_TTUQ2b1x1_-15C_20s_2026-02-21.fit
CCD-TEMP= -14.900000 for /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.fits
CCD-TEMP= -14.900000 for /var/www/nmw_calibration/TTUQ2b1x1/darks/mdark_TTUQ2b1x1_-15C_20s_2026-02-21.fit
Reading dark frame /var/www/nmw_calibration/TTUQ2b1x1/darks/mdark_TTUQ2b1x1_-15C_20s_2026-02-21.fit 9576 6388  16 bitpix
Dark frame is subtracted, output is written to /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/d_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.fits :)

Spent 0.491976 seconds 
renamed 'mdark_TTUQ2b1x1_-15C_20s_2026-02-21.png' -> 'transient_report/dark.png'
MegaDivider v7
Reading image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/d_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.fits 9576 6388  16 bitpix
Reading flat /var/www/nmw_calibration/TTUQ2b1x1/flats/mff_TTUQ2b1x1_2026-02-21.fit 9576 6388  16 bitpix
Avarage count on flat field image: 24427.345723
Minimal real count (from overscan): 5
Output is written to /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.fits :)


No overscan detected - all values seem high! (left_median=17731.5, right_median=15896.5)
renamed 'mff_TTUQ2b1x1_2026-02-21.png' -> 'transient_report/flat.png'
Using calibrated image CALIBRATED_SECOND_EPOCH__SECOND_IMAGE=/data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.fits
Dark frame used to calibrate the second-epoch images:



Flat field used to calibrate the second-epoch images:



after the calibration attempt:
SECOND_EPOCH__FIRST_IMAGE=/data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.fits
SECOND_EPOCH__SECOND_IMAGE=/data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.fits
Previews of the CALIBRATED second-epoch images:


fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.fits



fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.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 4 --matchstarnumber 500 --selectbestaperture --sysrem 0 --type 4 --maxsextractorflag 99 --UTC --nofind --nojdkeyword /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-02-54_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0151.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-03-42_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0152.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.fits
  
Last  image: 2461119.73212148 20.03.2026 05:34:05.296 UTC
ERROR running VaST on the field Cep-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': 4.000000 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/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-02-54_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0151.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/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-03-42_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0152.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_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3)...  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 4 --matchstarnumber 500 --selectbestaperture --sysrem 0 --type 4 --maxsextractorflag 99 --UTC --nofind --nojdkeyword /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-02-54_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0151.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-03-42_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0152.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.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
################
Excluding image region:    -1.0    -1.0     1.0     1.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  8500.0     0.0  9576.0  6388.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  7500.0     0.0  9576.0  2000.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Setting the fixed star match radius of 4.00 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/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-02-54_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0151.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/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-03-42_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0152.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/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-03-42_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0152.fits
Excluding image region:    -1.0    -1.0     1.0     1.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  8500.0     0.0  9576.0  6388.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  7500.0     0.0  9576.0  2000.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
The gain value (GAIN=0.370) from default.sex will be used for image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2autodetect_aperture() is doing a preliminary SExtractor run to determine an appropriate aperture size
b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.fits
The above guess is bassex -c default.sex  -PARAMETERS_NAME autodetect_aper.param -CATALOG_NAME autodetect_aper_image00002.cat  /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-03-42_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0152.fits > image00002.cat.sex_log 2>&1ed on the non-default gain value specified in default.sex by user

autodetect_aperture() is running SExtractor on /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-02-54_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0151.fits
Excluding image region:    -1.0    -1.0     1.0     1.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  8500.0     0.0  9576.0  6388.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  7500.0     0.0  9576.0  2000.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
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/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-02-54_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0151.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_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.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_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.fits
Excluding image region:    -1.0    -1.0     1.0     1.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  8500.0     0.0  9576.0  6388.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  7500.0     0.0  9576.0  2000.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
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_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.fits > image00003.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is running SExtractor on /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.fits
Excluding image region:    -1.0    -1.0     1.0     1.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  8500.0     0.0  9576.0  6388.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  7500.0     0.0  9576.0  2000.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
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_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.fits > image00004.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is doing the main SExtractor run
sex  -PARAMETERS_NAME default.param -PHOT_APERTURES 6.5,6.5,5.8,7.1,7.8,8.4 -VERBOSE_TYPE NORMAL -CATALOG_NAME image00004.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.fits > image00004.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is doing the main SExtractor run
sex  -PARAMETERS_NAME default.param -PHOT_APERTURES 6.5,6.5,5.8,7.1,7.8,8.4 -VERBOSE_TYPE NORMAL -CATALOG_NAME image00003.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.fits > image00003.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is doing the main SExtractor run
sex  -PARAMETERS_NAME default.param -PHOT_APERTURES 5.9,5.9,5.4,6.5,7.1,7.7 -VERBOSE_TYPE NORMAL -CATALOG_NAME image00002.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-03-42_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0152.fits > image00002.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is doing the main SExtractor run
sex  -PARAMETERS_NAME default.param -PHOT_APERTURES 6.0,6.0,5.4,6.6,7.2,7.8 -VERBOSE_TYPE NORMAL -CATALOG_NAME image00001.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-02-54_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0151.fits > image00001.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is done with image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.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_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.fits
Waiting for thread 2 to finish...
autodetect_aperture() is done with image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-03-42_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0152.fits
Waiting for thread 1 to finish...
autodetect_aperture() is done with image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-02-54_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0151.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/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-02-54_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0151.fits
9576x6388 FITS image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-02-54_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0151.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: 2025-12-23T04:02:54.4053856
Setting observation time using DATE-OBS keyword: 2025-12-23T04:02:54.4053856

Observing time converted to the "standard" FITS header format:
DATE-OBS= 2025-12-23T04:02:54.405
EXPTIME = 20.000

Using the catalog image00001.cat SExtracted earlier from the image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-02-54_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0151.fits
Exposure 20 sec, 23.12.2025 04:02:54.405 UTC = JD(UTC) 2461032.66880098 mid. exp.
The reference image star  9075.388    14.081 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  8458.469    16.736 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  8259.159    13.644 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  7845.492    12.077 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  8191.224    10.356 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  8669.180    33.621 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  8648.527    23.733 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  8176.781    22.195 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  8738.672    20.376 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  8050.871    23.578 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
Excluding more reference image stars falling at bad regions!.. (will not print them all)
SExtractor output filtering results:
 * passed selection: 11781, (11780 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: 1808
 * rejected close to frame edge: 63
 * rejected as being too small (<1.5 pix): 0
 * rejected as being too large (>6.0 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): 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: -7.65
Detection limit from the magnitude-SNR relation= -7.6  (5.0 sigma detection)
The simple faintest star detection limit= -9.7
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:    10.05.9 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): 4
 * 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'.
    11781 * detected, using  500/ 500 * for reference/current image matching, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000340, number_of_ambiguous_matches=4 
refining the coordinate transformation... fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000340, number_of_ambiguous_matches=4 
11156 * matched, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000340, number_of_ambiguous_matches=4 
11156 * matched (2nd iteration). fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000340, number_of_ambiguous_matches=4 
11156 * matched (3rd iteration). Success!
  rotation [degrees] =   0.012
    11781 stars detected, 11156 stars matched
Performing magnitude calibration using automatically selected comparison stars
Expecting to find at least 40 * for magnitude calibration
We have N_good_stars = 10288, N_manually_selected_comparison_stars = 0
Using 10288 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 10288 stars for magnitude calibration.
Using the linear CCD position-dependent magnitude correction:
 delta_m = -0.00000*X_pix -0.00000*Y_pix +0.00461
Iteratively removing outliers from the mag-mag relation (weighted linear/polynomial fit)...
Computing robust linear magnitude calibration.
Used 10287 stars for magnitude calibration (after filtering).
get_detection_limit_sn(): Detection limit: -7.63
    12406 objects stored in memory (400000 max.)
Magnitude calibration is performed successfully!
Saving observations to the cache... OK
memory:  104912 kB used, 117432 kB peak, 65263848 kB available RAM
processed 2 of 4 images ( 50.0%)



Processing  /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.fits
9576x6388 FITS image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.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: 2026-03-20T05:34:05.2963763
Setting observation time using DATE-OBS keyword: 2026-03-20T05:34:05.2963763

Observing time converted to the "standard" FITS header format:
DATE-OBS= 2026-03-20T05:34:05.296
EXPTIME = 20.000

Using the catalog image00003.cat SExtracted earlier from the image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.fits
The star  8067.490     8.867 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7562.371    10.334 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8598.760    10.044 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7851.605     2.272 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7508.310     1.501 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  9232.346     1.422 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8634.907    18.725 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7967.850    29.728 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8028.678    23.669 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8136.489    42.343 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
Excluding more stars falling at bad regions!.. (will not print them all)
SExtractor output filtering results:
 * passed selection: 10888
 * rejected as having no flux measurement: 0
 * rejected as having SNR<3.0: 0
 * rejected inside rectangles defined in bad_region.lst: 2091
 * rejected close to frame edge: 47
 * rejected as being too small (<1.6 pix): 0
 * rejected as being too large (>6.5 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): 3
 * 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'.
    10888 * detected, using  462/ 500 * for reference/current image matching, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000806, number_of_ambiguous_matches=10 
Too few * matched: 114 < 4464 ! Retrying...
  rotation [degrees] = -11.011
    10888 stars detected,   114 stars matched
ERROR! Too few stars matched (114 < 4464) . Wrong match? Skipping file...



Processing  /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.fits
9576x6388 FITS image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.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: 2026-03-20T05:34:52.6228988
Setting observation time using DATE-OBS keyword: 2026-03-20T05:34:52.6228988

Observing time converted to the "standard" FITS header format:
DATE-OBS= 2026-03-20T05:34:52.622
EXPTIME = 20.000

Using the catalog image00004.cat SExtracted earlier from the image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.fits
The star  8067.316     8.722 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7561.978    10.205 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8598.589     9.883 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7851.407     2.188 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7507.990     1.400 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  9232.019     1.487 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8634.658    18.655 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7967.660    29.569 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8028.459    23.514 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8136.280    42.126 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
Excluding more stars falling at bad regions!.. (will not print them all)
SExtractor output filtering results:
 * passed selection: 10885
 * rejected as having no flux measurement: 0
 * rejected as having SNR<3.0: 0
 * rejected inside rectangles defined in bad_region.lst: 2076
 * rejected close to frame edge: 43
 * rejected as being too small (<1.6 pix): 0
 * rejected as being too large (>6.5 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'.
    10885 * detected, using  462/ 500 * for reference/current image matching, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.001048, number_of_ambiguous_matches=13 
Too few * matched: 122 < 4462 ! Retrying...
  rotation [degrees] = -11.009
    10885 stars detected,   122 stars matched
ERROR! Too few stars matched (122 < 4462) . Wrong match? Skipping file...
TIMING matching_and_photometry: 0 seconds
Done with measurements! =)

Total number of measurements 23562 (23562 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  3119 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  3274 stars
Aperture with index 3 (REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER +0.10*REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER) seems best for  1615 stars
Aperture with index 4 (REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER +0.20*REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER) seems best for  1229 stars
Aperture with index 5 (REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER +0.30*REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER) seems best for  1919 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: 11040 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 4 --matchstarnumber 500 --selectbestaperture --sysrem 0 --type 4 --maxsextractorflag 99 --UTC --nofind --nojdkeyword /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-02-54_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0151.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-03-42_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0152.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.fits
  
Last  image: 2461119.73212148 20.03.2026 05:34:05.296 UTC
ERROR running VaST on the field Cep-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': 4.000000 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/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-02-54_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0151.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/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-03-42_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0152.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_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3)...  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 4 --matchstarnumber 500 --selectbestaperture --sysrem 0 --type 4 --maxsextractorflag 99 --UTC --nofind --nojdkeyword /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-02-54_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0151.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-03-42_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0152.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.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
################
Excluding image region:    -1.0    -1.0     1.0     1.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  8500.0     0.0  9576.0  6388.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  7500.0     0.0  9576.0  2000.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Setting the fixed star match radius of 4.00 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/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-02-54_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0151.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/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-03-42_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0152.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_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.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_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2autodetect_aperture() is running SExtractor on /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-02-54_20.00secb1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.fits
The above guess is bas_-15.00C_LIGHT_0151.fits
ed on the non-default gain value specified in default.sex by user
Excluding image region:    -1.0    -1.0     1.0     1.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  8500.0     0.0  9576.0  6388.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  7500.0     0.0  9576.0  2000.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
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/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-02-54_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0151.fits > image00001.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is running SExtractor on /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.fits
Excluding image region:    -1.0    -1.0     1.0     1.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  8500.0     0.0  9576.0  6388.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  7500.0     0.0  9576.0  2000.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
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_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.fits > image00003.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is running SExtractor on /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-03-42_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0152.fits
Excluding image region:    -1.0    -1.0     1.0     1.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  8500.0     0.0  9576.0  6388.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  7500.0     0.0  9576.0  2000.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
autodetect_aperture() is running SExtractor on /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.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/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-03-42_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0152.fits > image00002.cat.sex_log 2>&1
Excluding image region:    -1.0    -1.0     1.0     1.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  8500.0     0.0  9576.0  6388.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  7500.0     0.0  9576.0  2000.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
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_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.fits > image00004.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is doing the main SExtractor run
sex  -PARAMETERS_NAME default.param -PHOT_APERTURES 5.2,5.2,4.7,5.7,6.2,6.7 -VERBOSE_TYPE NORMAL -CATALOG_NAME image00003.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.fits > image00003.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is doing the main SExtractor run
sex  -PARAMETERS_NAME default.param -PHOT_APERTURES 5.2,5.2,4.6,5.7,6.2,6.7 -VERBOSE_TYPE NORMAL -CATALOG_NAME image00004.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.fits > image00004.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is doing the main SExtractor run
sex  -PARAMETERS_NAME default.param -PHOT_APERTURES 4.6,4.6,4.1,5.1,5.5,6.0 -VERBOSE_TYPE NORMAL -CATALOG_NAME image00001.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-02-54_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0151.fits > image00001.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is doing the main SExtractor run
sex  -PARAMETERS_NAME default.param -PHOT_APERTURES 4.6,4.6,4.1,5.0,5.5,5.9 -VERBOSE_TYPE NORMAL -CATALOG_NAME image00002.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-03-42_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0152.fits > image00002.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is done with image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.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_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.fits
Waiting for thread 2 to finish...
autodetect_aperture() is done with image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-03-42_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0152.fits
Waiting for thread 1 to finish...
autodetect_aperture() is done with image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-02-54_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0151.fits


Done with SExtractor!

TIMING SExtractor: 26 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/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-02-54_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0151.fits
9576x6388 FITS image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-02-54_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0151.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: 2025-12-23T04:02:54.4053856
Setting observation time using DATE-OBS keyword: 2025-12-23T04:02:54.4053856

Observing time converted to the "standard" FITS header format:
DATE-OBS= 2025-12-23T04:02:54.405
EXPTIME = 20.000

Using the catalog image00001.cat SExtracted earlier from the image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2025-12-22_22-02-54_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0151.fits
Exposure 20 sec, 23.12.2025 04:02:54.405 UTC = JD(UTC) 2461032.66880098 mid. exp.
The reference image star  8669.179    33.621 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  9075.388    14.081 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  8458.467    16.738 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  7659.475    17.687 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  8259.156    13.645 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  7845.493    12.077 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  8191.219    10.359 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  7925.561    11.936 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  8962.170    11.019 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  9314.033     9.008 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
Excluding more reference image stars falling at bad regions!.. (will not print them all)
SExtractor output filtering results:
 * passed selection: 77537, (77536 good for image matching)
 * rejected as having no flux measurement: 0
 * rejected as having SNR<3.0: 19
 * rejected inside rectangles defined in bad_region.lst: 7531
 * rejected close to frame edge: 364
 * 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): 42
 * 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: -7.32
Detection limit from the magnitude-SNR relation= -7.3  (5.0 sigma detection)
The simple faintest star detection limit= -6.6
80 percent brightest stars detection limit= -7.8
Selected detection limit= -7.8
Final detection limit= -7.8 (after subtracting MAG_TRANSIENT_ABOVE_THE_REFERENCE_FRAME_LIMIT=0.0)

Parameter box for transient search:    10.04.6 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): 62
 * 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'.
    78393 * detected, using  505/ 500 * for reference/current image matching, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.004261, number_of_ambiguous_matches=334 
refining the coordinate transformation... fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.004248, number_of_ambiguous_matches=333 
71537 * matched, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.004248, number_of_ambiguous_matches=333 
71537 * matched (2nd iteration). fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.004248, number_of_ambiguous_matches=333 
71537 * matched (3rd iteration). Success!
  rotation [degrees] =   0.013
    78393 stars detected, 71537 stars matched
Performing magnitude calibration using automatically selected comparison stars
Expecting to find at least 40 * for magnitude calibration
We have N_good_stars = 65669, N_manually_selected_comparison_stars = 0
Using 65669 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 65667 stars for magnitude calibration.
Using the linear CCD position-dependent magnitude correction:
 delta_m = -0.00000*X_pix -0.00000*Y_pix +0.00646
Iteratively removing outliers from the mag-mag relation (weighted linear/polynomial fit)...
Computing robust linear magnitude calibration.
Used 62747 stars for magnitude calibration (after filtering).
get_detection_limit_sn(): Detection limit: -7.32
    84393 objects stored in memory (400000 max.)
Magnitude calibration is performed successfully!
Saving observations to the cache... OK
memory:  153012 kB used, 173724 kB peak, 65263848 kB available RAM
processed 2 of 4 images ( 50.0%)



Processing  /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.fits
9576x6388 FITS image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.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: 2026-03-20T05:34:05.2963763
Setting observation time using DATE-OBS keyword: 2026-03-20T05:34:05.2963763

Observing time converted to the "standard" FITS header format:
DATE-OBS= 2026-03-20T05:34:05.296
EXPTIME = 20.000

Using the catalog image00003.cat SExtracted earlier from the image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-05_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0224.fits
The star  8136.487    42.346 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8634.907    18.725 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7873.351    14.592 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8964.021    13.075 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8067.487     8.868 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7562.310    10.369 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8598.744    10.030 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  9387.766     8.538 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7923.169     6.652 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7851.604     2.271 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
Excluding more stars falling at bad regions!.. (will not print them all)
SExtractor output filtering results:
 * passed selection: 60201
 * rejected as having no flux measurement: 0
 * rejected as having SNR<3.0: 10
 * rejected inside rectangles defined in bad_region.lst: 6553
 * rejected close to frame edge: 265
 * rejected as being too small (<1.3 pix): 0
 * rejected as being too large (>5.2 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): 133
 * 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'.
    60201 * detected, using  388/ 500 * for reference/current image matching, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000664, number_of_ambiguous_matches=56 
Too few * matched: 4004 < 24682 ! Retrying...
  rotation [degrees] = -177.103
    60201 stars detected,  4004 stars matched
ERROR! Too few stars matched (4004 < 24682) . Wrong match? Skipping file...



Processing  /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.fits
9576x6388 FITS image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.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: 2026-03-20T05:34:52.6228988
Setting observation time using DATE-OBS keyword: 2026-03-20T05:34:52.6228988

Observing time converted to the "standard" FITS header format:
DATE-OBS= 2026-03-20T05:34:52.622
EXPTIME = 20.000

Using the catalog image00004.cat SExtracted earlier from the image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-03-20_CI_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_010153_TTUQ2b1x1_2029_9ZMSMNf3/fd_Cep-01-Q2b1x1_2026-03-20_00-34-52_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0225.fits
The star  8136.310    42.175 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7870.866    40.788 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8634.656    18.655 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8351.076    19.249 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7873.244    14.476 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7561.922    10.242 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8963.910    12.930 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8067.312     8.723 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8598.583     9.872 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8809.656     8.327 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
Excluding more stars falling at bad regions!.. (will not print them all)
SExtractor output filtering results:
 * passed selection: 60532
 * rejected as having no flux measurement: 0
 * rejected as having SNR<3.0: 10
 * rejected inside rectangles defined in bad_region.lst: 6539
 * rejected close to frame edge: 261
 * rejected as being too small (<1.3 pix): 0
 * rejected as being too large (>5.2 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): 109
 * 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'.
    60532 * detected, using  390/ 500 * for reference/current image matching, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000118, number_of_ambiguous_matches=10 
Too few * matched: 522 < 24818 ! Retrying...
  rotation [degrees] = 178.793
    60532 stars detected,   522 stars matched
ERROR! Too few stars matched (522 < 24818) . Wrong match? Skipping file...
TIMING matching_and_photometry: 1 seconds
Done with measurements! =)

Total number of measurements 155930 (155930 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 11858 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 19119 stars
Aperture with index 3 (REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER +0.10*REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER) seems best for 13352 stars
Aperture with index 4 (REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER +0.20*REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER) seems best for 10192 stars
Aperture with index 5 (REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER +0.30*REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER) seems best for 17016 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: 71237 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 Cep-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 Mar 20 01:03:45 CDT 2026
=======================================
FIELD_Cep-01-Q2b1x1: 71s (1.18 min)
=======================================
TOTAL_RUNTIME: 74s (1.23 min)
Finished: Fri Mar 20 01:04:59 CDT 2026