ERROR running VaST on the field Cep-06-Q2b1x1 (wrong field? clouds? very bad focus?)
ERROR running VaST on the field Cep-06-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= 15.0
FLAT_FIELD_FILE= /var/www/nmw_calibration/TTUQ2b1x1/flats/mff_TTUQ2b1x1_2026-03-20.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= V36
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.china-vo.org
GAIA_DR2_CLIENT=vizquery (lib/vizquery -> VizieR vizier.china-vo.org)
INFO: MAKE_PNG_PLOTS is set to yes
FITS_FILE_EXT=fits
CALIBRATION_STATUS_PREFIX=
Fields in the data directory: 
Cep-06-Q2b1x1
#######################################
########### Starting Cep-06-Q2b1x1 ###########
Processing Cep-06-Q2b1x1
server tau has sufficient free disk space available: 936695 MB at /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir
server tau has sufficient free disk space available: 936695 MB at .
Checking input images (2 new)
REFERENCE_EPOCH__FIRST_IMAGE= /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2025-12-26_19-31-09_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0032.fits
REFERENCE_EPOCH__SECOND_IMAGE= /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2025-12-26_19-31-58_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0033.fits
Small preview (one of the new images): 

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

MAKE_PNG_PLOTS=yes


renamed 'Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.png' -> 'transient_report/Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.fits_preview.png'

Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.fits


renamed 'Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.png' -> 'transient_report/Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.fits_preview.png'

Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.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= 843.2799
INFO:         REFERENCE_EPOCH__FIRST_IMAGE_SD= 896.1921
INFO:    SECOND_EPOCH__FIRST_IMAGE_MEAN_VALUE= 1542.8333
INFO:            SECOND_EPOCH__FIRST_IMAGE_SD= 429.6735
INFO:   SECOND_EPOCH__SECOND_IMAGE_MEAN_VALUE= 1551.5007
INFO:           SECOND_EPOCH__SECOND_IMAGE_SD= 430.9552
----------------------------------------------
INFO:      ref_to_second_epoch_img_mean_ratio= 1.82956
INFO:                  SECOND_EPOCH__SD_ratio= 0.003
----------------------------------------------
Calibration settings: DARK_FRAMES_DIR=/var/www/nmw_calibration/TTUQ2b1x1/darks FLAT_FIELD_FILE=/var/www/nmw_calibration/TTUQ2b1x1/flats/mff_TTUQ2b1x1_2026-03-20.fit
EXPTIME =                 20.0 / [s] Exposure duration
SET-TEMP=                 -5.0 / [degC] CCD temperature setpoint
CCD-TEMP=                 -4.9 / [degC] CCD temperature
FOCTEMP =      15.460000038147 / [degC] Focuser temperature
AMBTEMP =                 15.5 / [degC] Ambient air temperature
Exploring image header: /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.fits 
CCD-TEMP= -4.900000 for /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.fits
SET-TEMP= -5.000000 for /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.fits
Header: 74 keys total, 33 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= '2026-04-13T04:07:43.2173261' / Time of observation (local)" status=0
Record 12: "DATE-OBS= '2026-04-13T09:07:43.2173261' / Time of observation (UTC)" status=0
Record 13: "MJD-OBS =     61143.3803613079 / Modified Julian Date of observation" status=0
Record 14: "DATE-AVG= '2026-04-13T09:07:53.1191626' / Averaged midpoint time (UTC)" status=0
Record 15: "MJD-AVG =     61143.3804759146 / 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=                 -5.0 / [degC] CCD temperature setpoint" status=0
Record 25: "CCD-TEMP=                 -4.9 / [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      =     334.284690094535 / [deg] RA of telescope" status=0
Record 32: "DEC     =     62.0000229114705 / [deg] Declination of telescope" status=0
Record 33: "CENTALT =                25.97 / [deg] Altitude of telescope" status=0
Record 34: "CENTAZ  =     31.0063888888889 / [deg] Azimuth of telescope" status=0
Record 35: "AIRMASS =     2.27434335517509 / Airmass at frame center (Gueymard 1993)" status=0
Record 36: "PIERSIDE= 'West'               / 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-06'             / Name of the object of interest" status=0
Record 46: "OBJCTRA = '22 17 09'           / [H M S] RA of imaged object" status=0
Record 47: "OBJCTDEC= '+62 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  =                20322 / [step] Focuser position" status=0
Record 51: "FOCUSPOS=                20322 / [step] Focuser position" status=0
Record 52: "FOCUSSZ =                  0.0 / [um] Focuser step size" status=0
Record 53: "FOCTEMP =      15.460000038147 / [degC] Focuser temperature" status=0
Record 54: "FOCUSTEM=      15.460000038147 / [degC] Focuser temperature" status=0
Record 55: "DEWPOINT=                  6.8 / [degC] Dew point" status=0
Record 56: "HUMIDITY=                 56.0 / [percent] Relative humidity" status=0
Record 57: "PRESSURE=               899.09 / [hPa] Air pressure" status=0
Record 58: "AMBTEMP =                 15.5 / [degC] Ambient air temperature" status=0
Record 59: "WINDDIR =                 68.0 / [deg] Wind direction: 0=N, 180=S, 90=E, 270=W" status=0
Record 60: "WINDGUST=            18.401472 / [kph] Wind gust" status=0
Record 61: "WINDSPD =            11.900952 / [kph] Wind speed" status=0
Record 62: "ROWORDER= 'TOP-DOWN'           / FITS Image Orientation" status=0
Record 63: "EQUINOX =               2000.0 / Equinox of celestial coordinate system" status=0
Record 64: "SWCREATE= 'N.I.N.A. 3.2.0.9001 (x64)' / Software that created this file" status=0
Record 65: "QHY_EXP =            20.000096 / [s] Actual exposure time" status=0
Record 66: "QHY_PP  =              13888.0 / [ps] pixelPeriod" status=0
Record 67: "QHY_LP  =              85000.0 / [ns] linePeriod" status=0
Record 68: "GPS_LP  =              85000.0 / [ns] linePeriod" status=0
Record 69: "QHY_FP  =           20000160.0 / [us] framePeriod" status=0
Record 70: "QHY_CPL =               6120.0 / clocksPerLine" status=0
Record 71: "QHY_LPF =             235295.0 / linesPerFrame" status=0
Record 72: "QHY_AET =           20000096.0 / [us] actualExposureTime" status=0
Record 73: "QHY_LEM =                    T / isLongExposureMode" status=0
Record 74: "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_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.fits 9576 6388  16 bitpix
SET-TEMP= -5.000000 for /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.fits
SET-TEMP= -5.000000 for /var/www/nmw_calibration/TTUQ2b1x1/darks/mdark_TTUQ2b1x1_-5C_20s_2026-04-02.fit
CCD-TEMP= -4.900000 for /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.fits
CCD-TEMP= -5.000000 for /var/www/nmw_calibration/TTUQ2b1x1/darks/mdark_TTUQ2b1x1_-5C_20s_2026-04-02.fit
Reading dark frame /var/www/nmw_calibration/TTUQ2b1x1/darks/mdark_TTUQ2b1x1_-5C_20s_2026-04-02.fit 9576 6388  16 bitpix
Dark frame is subtracted, output is written to /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/d_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.fits :)

Spent 0.520529 seconds 
renamed 'mdark_TTUQ2b1x1_-5C_20s_2026-04-02.png' -> 'transient_report/dark.png'
MegaDivider v7
Reading image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/d_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.fits 9576 6388  16 bitpix
Reading flat /var/www/nmw_calibration/TTUQ2b1x1/flats/mff_TTUQ2b1x1_2026-03-20.fit 9576 6388  16 bitpix
Avarage count on flat field image: 37165.080609
Minimal real count (from overscan): 5
Output is written to /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.fits :)


No overscan detected - all values seem high! (left_median=23810.0, right_median=27365.5)
renamed 'mff_TTUQ2b1x1_2026-03-20.png' -> 'transient_report/flat.png'
Using calibrated image CALIBRATED_SECOND_EPOCH__FIRST_IMAGE=/data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.fits
EXPTIME =                 20.0 / [s] Exposure duration
SET-TEMP=                 -5.0 / [degC] CCD temperature setpoint
CCD-TEMP=                 -5.0 / [degC] CCD temperature
FOCTEMP =     15.4099998474121 / [degC] Focuser temperature
AMBTEMP =                 15.5 / [degC] Ambient air temperature
Exploring image header: /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.fits 
CCD-TEMP= -5.000000 for /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.fits
SET-TEMP= -5.000000 for /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.fits
Header: 74 keys total, 33 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= '2026-04-13T04:08:36.3345930' / Time of observation (local)" status=0
Record 12: "DATE-OBS= '2026-04-13T09:08:36.3345930' / Time of observation (UTC)" status=0
Record 13: "MJD-OBS =     61143.3809760879 / Modified Julian Date of observation" status=0
Record 14: "DATE-AVG= '2026-04-13T09:08:46.2380564' / Averaged midpoint time (UTC)" status=0
Record 15: "MJD-AVG =     61143.3810907174 / 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=                 -5.0 / [degC] CCD temperature setpoint" status=0
Record 25: "CCD-TEMP=                 -5.0 / [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      =     334.284690003246 / [deg] RA of telescope" status=0
Record 32: "DEC     =      62.000022942088 / [deg] Declination of telescope" status=0
Record 33: "CENTALT =     26.0666666666667 / [deg] Altitude of telescope" status=0
Record 34: "CENTAZ  =     31.0533333333333 / [deg] Azimuth of telescope" status=0
Record 35: "AIRMASS =     2.26657696173347 / Airmass at frame center (Gueymard 1993)" status=0
Record 36: "PIERSIDE= 'West'               / 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-06'             / Name of the object of interest" status=0
Record 46: "OBJCTRA = '22 17 09'           / [H M S] RA of imaged object" status=0
Record 47: "OBJCTDEC= '+62 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  =                20322 / [step] Focuser position" status=0
Record 51: "FOCUSPOS=                20322 / [step] Focuser position" status=0
Record 52: "FOCUSSZ =                  0.0 / [um] Focuser step size" status=0
Record 53: "FOCTEMP =     15.4099998474121 / [degC] Focuser temperature" status=0
Record 54: "FOCUSTEM=     15.4099998474121 / [degC] Focuser temperature" status=0
Record 55: "DEWPOINT=                  6.8 / [degC] Dew point" status=0
Record 56: "HUMIDITY=                 56.0 / [percent] Relative humidity" status=0
Record 57: "PRESSURE=               899.09 / [hPa] Air pressure" status=0
Record 58: "AMBTEMP =                 15.5 / [degC] Ambient air temperature" status=0
Record 59: "WINDDIR =                 68.0 / [deg] Wind direction: 0=N, 180=S, 90=E, 270=W" status=0
Record 60: "WINDGUST=            18.401472 / [kph] Wind gust" status=0
Record 61: "WINDSPD =            11.900952 / [kph] Wind speed" status=0
Record 62: "ROWORDER= 'TOP-DOWN'           / FITS Image Orientation" status=0
Record 63: "EQUINOX =               2000.0 / Equinox of celestial coordinate system" status=0
Record 64: "SWCREATE= 'N.I.N.A. 3.2.0.9001 (x64)' / Software that created this file" status=0
Record 65: "QHY_EXP =            20.000096 / [s] Actual exposure time" status=0
Record 66: "QHY_PP  =              13888.0 / [ps] pixelPeriod" status=0
Record 67: "QHY_LP  =              85000.0 / [ns] linePeriod" status=0
Record 68: "GPS_LP  =              85000.0 / [ns] linePeriod" status=0
Record 69: "QHY_FP  =           20000160.0 / [us] framePeriod" status=0
Record 70: "QHY_CPL =               6120.0 / clocksPerLine" status=0
Record 71: "QHY_LPF =             235295.0 / linesPerFrame" status=0
Record 72: "QHY_AET =           20000096.0 / [us] actualExposureTime" status=0
Record 73: "QHY_LEM =                    T / isLongExposureMode" status=0
Record 74: "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_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.fits 9576 6388  16 bitpix
SET-TEMP= -5.000000 for /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.fits
SET-TEMP= -5.000000 for /var/www/nmw_calibration/TTUQ2b1x1/darks/mdark_TTUQ2b1x1_-5C_20s_2026-04-02.fit
CCD-TEMP= -5.000000 for /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.fits
CCD-TEMP= -5.000000 for /var/www/nmw_calibration/TTUQ2b1x1/darks/mdark_TTUQ2b1x1_-5C_20s_2026-04-02.fit
Reading dark frame /var/www/nmw_calibration/TTUQ2b1x1/darks/mdark_TTUQ2b1x1_-5C_20s_2026-04-02.fit 9576 6388  16 bitpix
Dark frame is subtracted, output is written to /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/d_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.fits :)

Spent 0.514906 seconds 
renamed 'mdark_TTUQ2b1x1_-5C_20s_2026-04-02.png' -> 'transient_report/dark.png'
MegaDivider v7
Reading image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/d_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.fits 9576 6388  16 bitpix
Reading flat /var/www/nmw_calibration/TTUQ2b1x1/flats/mff_TTUQ2b1x1_2026-03-20.fit 9576 6388  16 bitpix
Avarage count on flat field image: 37165.080609
Minimal real count (from overscan): 5
Output is written to /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.fits :)


No overscan detected - all values seem high! (left_median=23810.0, right_median=27365.5)
renamed 'mff_TTUQ2b1x1_2026-03-20.png' -> 'transient_report/flat.png'
Using calibrated image CALIBRATED_SECOND_EPOCH__SECOND_IMAGE=/data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.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_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.fits
SECOND_EPOCH__SECOND_IMAGE=/data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.fits
Previews of the CALIBRATED second-epoch images:


fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.fits



fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.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-06-Q2b1x1_2025-12-26_19-31-09_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0032.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2025-12-26_19-31-58_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0033.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.fits
  
Last  image: 2461143.88047705 13.04.2026 09:07:43.217 UTC
ERROR running VaST on the field Cep-06-Q2b1x1 (wrong field? clouds? very bad focus? -- transient_factory_test31.txt)
____ VaST output ____

--==VaST 1.0rc90==--

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-06-Q2b1x1_2025-12-26_19-31-09_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0032.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-06-Q2b1x1_2025-12-26_19-31-58_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0033.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_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G)...  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-06-Q2b1x1_2025-12-26_19-31-09_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0032.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2025-12-26_19-31-58_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0033.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.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:  7500.0     0.0  9576.0  6388.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  1637.0  2824.0  1639.0  2826.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  2012.0  4693.0  2014.0  4695.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  2397.0  4241.0  2399.0  4243.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  3322.0  3744.0  3324.0  3746.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  4624.0  4621.0  4626.0  4623.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  6875.0  5527.0  6877.0  5529.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Setting the fixed star match radius of 4.00 pix
We have 4 images to process.
SExtractor catalog cache: restored Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2025-12-26_19-31-09_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0032.fits catalog from cache
SExtractor catalog cache: restored Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2025-12-26_19-31-58_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0033.fits catalog from cache
The number of processor cores determined from /proc/cpuinfo is 24.
Running SExtractor in 4 parallel threads...
Using the catalog image00001.cat SExtracted earlier from the image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2025-12-26_19-31-09_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0032.fits
Using the catalog image00002.cat SExtracted earlier from the image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2025-12-26_19-31-58_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0033.fits
Parent process says: we are done fork()ing.
Waiting for thread 3 to finish...
The gain value (GAIN=0.370) from default.sex will be used for image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.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_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.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_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.fits
Excluding image region:    -1.0    -1.0     1.0     1.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  7500.0     0.0  9576.0  6388.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  1637.0  2824.0  1639.0  2826.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  2012.0  4693.0  2014.0  4695.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  2397.0  4241.0  2399.0  4243.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  3322.0  3744.0  3324.0  3746.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  4624.0  4621.0  4626.0  4623.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  6875.0  5527.0  6877.0  5529.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
autodetect_aperture() is doing a preliminary SExtractor run to determine an appropriate aperture size
autodetect_aperture() is running SExtractor on /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1sex -c default.sex  -PARAMETERS_NAME autodetect_aper.param -CATALOG_NAME autodetect_aper_image00003.cat  /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.fits > image00003.cat.sex_log 2>&1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.fits

Excluding image region:    -1.0    -1.0     1.0     1.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  7500.0     0.0  9576.0  6388.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  1637.0  2824.0  1639.0  2826.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  2012.0  4693.0  2014.0  4695.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  2397.0  4241.0  2399.0  4243.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  3322.0  3744.0  3324.0  3746.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  4624.0  4621.0  4626.0  4623.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  6875.0  5527.0  6877.0  5529.0  (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_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.fits > image00004.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is doing the main SExtractor run
sex  -PARAMETERS_NAME default.param -PHOT_APERTURES 6.5,6.5,5.9,7.2,7.9,8.5 -VERBOSE_TYPE NORMAL -CATALOG_NAME image00004.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.fits > image00004.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is doing the main SExtractor run
sex  -PARAMETERS_NAME default.param -PHOT_APERTURES 6.6,6.6,5.9,7.2,7.9,8.6 -VERBOSE_TYPE NORMAL -CATALOG_NAME image00003.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.fits > image00003.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is done with image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.fits
autodetect_aperture() is done with image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.fits
Waiting for thread 2 to finish...
Waiting for thread 1 to finish...


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/Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2025-12-26_19-31-09_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0032.fits
9576x6388 FITS image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2025-12-26_19-31-09_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0032.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: 2025-12-27T01:31:09.2499964
Setting observation time using DATE-OBS keyword: 2025-12-27T01:31:09.2499964

Observing time converted to the "standard" FITS header format:
DATE-OBS= 2025-12-27T01:31:09.249
EXPTIME = 20.000

Using the catalog image00001.cat SExtracted earlier from the image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2025-12-26_19-31-09_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0032.fits
Exposure 20 sec, 27.12.2025 01:31:09.249 UTC = JD(UTC) 2461036.56341723 mid. exp.
The reference image star  7640.534    24.128 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  8075.702    17.306 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  8900.183    14.424 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  8426.748    10.893 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  8724.847    14.509 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  8992.238     8.289 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  7823.644    10.239 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  8691.276     9.412 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  7575.756     6.423 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  7542.466     9.300 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: 18436, (18435 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: 4566
 * rejected close to frame edge: 92
 * rejected as being too small (<1.7 pix): 0
 * rejected as being too large (>6.8 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): 24
 * 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: -7.98
Detection limit from the magnitude-SNR relation= -8.0  (5.0 sigma detection)
The simple faintest star detection limit= -9.9
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:    10.06.8 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): 15
 * 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'.
    18387 * detected, using  498/ 500 * for reference/current image matching, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.001844, number_of_ambiguous_matches=34 
refining the coordinate transformation... fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.001844, number_of_ambiguous_matches=34 
17269 * matched, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.001844, number_of_ambiguous_matches=34 
17269 * matched (2nd iteration). fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.001844, number_of_ambiguous_matches=34 
17269 * matched (3rd iteration). Success!
  rotation [degrees] =   0.008
    18387 stars detected, 17269 stars matched
Performing magnitude calibration using automatically selected comparison stars
Expecting to find at least 40 * for magnitude calibration
We have N_good_stars = 14918, N_manually_selected_comparison_stars = 0
Using 14918 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 14918 stars for magnitude calibration.
Using the linear CCD position-dependent magnitude correction:
 delta_m = -0.00000*X_pix +0.00000*Y_pix +0.00016
Iteratively removing outliers from the mag-mag relation (weighted linear/polynomial fit)...
Computing robust linear magnitude calibration.
Used 14910 stars for magnitude calibration (after filtering).
get_detection_limit_sn(): Detection limit: -7.98
    19554 objects stored in memory (400000 max.)
Magnitude calibration is performed successfully!
Saving observations to the cache... OK
memory:  112140 kB used, 123292 kB peak, 65263848 kB available RAM
processed 2 of 4 images ( 50.0%)



Processing  /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.fits
9576x6388 FITS image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.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: 2026-04-13T09:07:43.2173261
Setting observation time using DATE-OBS keyword: 2026-04-13T09:07:43.2173261

Observing time converted to the "standard" FITS header format:
DATE-OBS= 2026-04-13T09:07:43.217
EXPTIME = 20.000

Using the catalog image00003.cat SExtracted earlier from the image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.fits
The star  8011.821    19.246 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7622.720   112.012 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8654.800   229.307 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8227.556   328.487 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8331.206   441.816 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  9305.529   636.652 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7505.665   719.452 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  9007.801   758.470 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8150.810   830.309 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7798.067  1047.113 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
Excluding more stars falling at bad regions!.. (will not print them all)
SExtractor output filtering results:
 * passed selection: 3827
 * rejected as having no flux measurement: 0
 * rejected as having SNR<3.0: 0
 * rejected inside rectangles defined in bad_region.lst: 235
 * rejected close to frame edge: 21
 * rejected as being too small (<1.6 pix): 0
 * rejected as being too large (>6.6 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): 1
 * rejected due to an external image flag: 0
 * rejected as having bad PSF fit: 0
---
You may change some of the filtering parameters by editing src/vast_limits.h and re-running 'make'.
     3827 * detected, using  103/ 500 * for reference/current image matching, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000051, number_of_ambiguous_matches=1 
refining the coordinate transformation... fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000051, number_of_ambiguous_matches=1 
2026 * matched, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000051, number_of_ambiguous_matches=1 
2026 * matched (2nd iteration). fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000051, number_of_ambiguous_matches=1 
2026 * matched (3rd iteration). Success!
  rotation [degrees] = -172.661
     3827 stars detected,  2026 stars matched
Performing magnitude calibration using automatically selected comparison stars
Expecting to find at least 40 * for magnitude calibration
We have N_good_stars = 1448, N_manually_selected_comparison_stars = 0
Using 1448 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 1361 stars for magnitude calibration.
Using the linear CCD position-dependent magnitude correction:
 delta_m = 0.00019*X_pix +0.00005*Y_pix -0.79965
ERROR in magnitude calibration: fabs(lin_mag_A * X_im_size + lin_mag_C) > MAX_LIN_CORR_MAG
ERROR in magnitude calibration: fabs(lin_mag_A * X_im_size + lin_mag_B * Y_im_size + lin_mag_C) > MAX_LIN_CORR_MAG
Used 1361 stars for magnitude calibration (after filtering).
get_detection_limit_sn(): Detection limit: -7.99
 ERROR!!! Magnitude calibration failure. Dropping image. 
    19554 objects stored in memory (400000 max.)
memory:  112288 kB used, 123292 kB peak, 65263848 kB available RAM
processed 3 of 4 images ( 75.0%)



Processing  /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.fits
9576x6388 FITS image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.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: 2026-04-13T09:08:36.3345930
Setting observation time using DATE-OBS keyword: 2026-04-13T09:08:36.3345930

Observing time converted to the "standard" FITS header format:
DATE-OBS= 2026-04-13T09:08:36.334
EXPTIME = 20.000

Using the catalog image00004.cat SExtracted earlier from the image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.fits
The star  7620.139   110.571 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7750.460   192.244 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8225.001   326.991 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8328.639   440.366 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  9305.004   635.434 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  9301.525   635.064 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7503.148   718.110 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  9005.433   756.643 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8148.310   828.893 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7599.970   870.960 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
Excluding more stars falling at bad regions!.. (will not print them all)
SExtractor output filtering results:
 * passed selection: 3772
 * rejected as having no flux measurement: 0
 * rejected as having SNR<3.0: 0
 * rejected inside rectangles defined in bad_region.lst: 267
 * rejected close to frame edge: 19
 * 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'.
     3772 * detected, using  102/ 500 * for reference/current image matching, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000051, number_of_ambiguous_matches=1 
refining the coordinate transformation... fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000051, number_of_ambiguous_matches=1 
1886 * matched, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000051, number_of_ambiguous_matches=1 
1886 * matched (2nd iteration). fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000051, number_of_ambiguous_matches=1 
1886 * matched (3rd iteration). Success!
  rotation [degrees] = -172.665
     3772 stars detected,  1886 stars matched
Performing magnitude calibration using automatically selected comparison stars
Expecting to find at least 40 * for magnitude calibration
We have N_good_stars = 1309, N_manually_selected_comparison_stars = 0
Using 1309 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 1217 stars for magnitude calibration.
Using the linear CCD position-dependent magnitude correction:
 delta_m = 0.00023*X_pix +0.00003*Y_pix -0.86064
ERROR in magnitude calibration: fabs(lin_mag_A * X_im_size + lin_mag_C) > MAX_LIN_CORR_MAG
ERROR in magnitude calibration: fabs(lin_mag_A * X_im_size + lin_mag_B * Y_im_size + lin_mag_C) > MAX_LIN_CORR_MAG
Used 1217 stars for magnitude calibration (after filtering).
get_detection_limit_sn(): Detection limit: -7.97
 ERROR!!! Magnitude calibration failure. Dropping image. 
    19554 objects stored in memory (400000 max.)
memory:  112288 kB used, 123292 kB peak, 65263848 kB available RAM
processed 4 of 4 images (100.0%)
TIMING matching_and_photometry: 0 seconds
Done with measurements! =)

Total number of measurements 36823 (36823 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  3584 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  5287 stars
Aperture with index 3 (REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER +0.10*REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER) seems best for  2755 stars
Aperture with index 4 (REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER +0.20*REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER) seems best for  2086 stars
Aperture with index 5 (REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER +0.30*REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER) seems best for  3557 stars

done!  =)
TIMING select_aperture: 0 seconds
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: 17100 objects, the longest string is 385 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 20 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-06-Q2b1x1_2025-12-26_19-31-09_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0032.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2025-12-26_19-31-58_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0033.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.fits
  
Last  image: 2461143.88047705 13.04.2026 09:07:43.217 UTC
ERROR running VaST on the field Cep-06-Q2b1x1 (wrong field? clouds? very bad focus? -- transient_factory_test31.txt)
____ VaST output ____

--==VaST 1.0rc90==--

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-06-Q2b1x1_2025-12-26_19-31-09_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0032.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-06-Q2b1x1_2025-12-26_19-31-58_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0033.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_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G)...  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-06-Q2b1x1_2025-12-26_19-31-09_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0032.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2025-12-26_19-31-58_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0033.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.fits /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.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:  7500.0     0.0  9576.0  6388.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  1637.0  2824.0  1639.0  2826.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  2012.0  4693.0  2014.0  4695.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  2397.0  4241.0  2399.0  4243.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  3322.0  3744.0  3324.0  3746.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  4624.0  4621.0  4626.0  4623.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  6875.0  5527.0  6877.0  5529.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Setting the fixed star match radius of 4.00 pix
We have 4 images to process.
SExtractor catalog cache: restored Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2025-12-26_19-31-09_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0032.fits catalog from cache
SExtractor catalog cache: restored Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2025-12-26_19-31-58_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0033.fits catalog from cache
The number of processor cores determined from /proc/cpuinfo is 24.
Running SExtractor in 4 parallel threads...
Using the catalog image00001.cat SExtracted earlier from the image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2025-12-26_19-31-09_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0032.fits
Using the catalog image00002.cat SExtracted earlier from the image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2025-12-26_19-31-58_20.00sec_-14.90C_LIGHT_0033.fits
The gain value (GAIN=0.830) from default.sex will be used for image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.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_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.fits
Excluding image region:    -1.0    -1.0     1.0     1.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  7500.0     0.0  9576.0  6388.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Parent process says: we are done fork()ing.
Excluding image region:  1637.0  2824.0  1639.0  2826.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  2012.0  4693.0  2014.0  4695.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  2397.0  4241.0  2399.0  4243.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Waiting for thread 3 to finish...
Excluding image region:  3322.0  3744.0  3324.0  3746.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  4624.0  4621.0  4626.0  4623.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  6875.0  5527.0  6877.0  5529.0  (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_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.fits > image00003.cat.sex_log 2>&1
The gain value (GAIN=0.830) from default.sex will be used for image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.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_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.fits
Excluding image region:    -1.0    -1.0     1.0     1.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  7500.0     0.0  9576.0  6388.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  1637.0  2824.0  1639.0  2826.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  2012.0  4693.0  2014.0  4695.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  2397.0  4241.0  2399.0  4243.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  3322.0  3744.0  3324.0  3746.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  4624.0  4621.0  4626.0  4623.0  (defined in bad_region.lst)
Excluding image region:  6875.0  5527.0  6877.0  5529.0  (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_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.fits > image00004.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is doing the main SExtractor run
sex  -PARAMETERS_NAME default.param -PHOT_APERTURES 5.0,5.0,4.5,5.5,6.0,6.5 -VERBOSE_TYPE NORMAL -CATALOG_NAME image00003.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.fits > image00003.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is doing the main SExtractor run
sex  -PARAMETERS_NAME default.param -PHOT_APERTURES 5.0,5.0,4.5,5.5,6.0,6.5 -VERBOSE_TYPE NORMAL -CATALOG_NAME image00004.cat /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.fits > image00004.cat.sex_log 2>&1
autodetect_aperture() is done with image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.fits
Waiting for thread 2 to finish...
Waiting for thread 1 to finish...
autodetect_aperture() is done with image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.fits


Done with SExtractor!

TIMING SExtractor: 7 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-06-Q2b1x1_2025-12-26_19-31-09_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0032.fits
9576x6388 FITS image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2025-12-26_19-31-09_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0032.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: 2025-12-27T01:31:09.2499964
Setting observation time using DATE-OBS keyword: 2025-12-27T01:31:09.2499964

Observing time converted to the "standard" FITS header format:
DATE-OBS= 2025-12-27T01:31:09.249
EXPTIME = 20.000

Using the catalog image00001.cat SExtracted earlier from the image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/reference_imgs/Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2025-12-26_19-31-09_20.00sec_-15.00C_LIGHT_0032.fits
Exposure 20 sec, 27.12.2025 01:31:09.249 UTC = JD(UTC) 2461036.56341723 mid. exp.
The reference image star  8395.349    30.442 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  9480.278    26.202 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  7640.529    24.131 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  7805.484    25.999 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  8618.886    22.247 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  8706.344    22.057 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  8894.346    21.763 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  8900.181    14.424 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  8075.693    17.310 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The reference image star  8426.747    10.893 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: 126923, (126920 good for image matching)
 * rejected as having no flux measurement: 0
 * rejected as having SNR<3.0: 51
 * rejected inside rectangles defined in bad_region.lst: 27433
 * rejected close to frame edge: 703
 * rejected as being too small (<1.2 pix): 0
 * rejected as being too large (>5.0 pix): 0
 * rejected as outliers in mag-size plot: 0
 * rejected as having SExtractor flags > 99 and <= 7: 0
 * rejected as having hopelessly bad SExtractor flags (>7): 120
 * 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: -7.63
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= -8.2
Selected detection limit= -8.2
Final detection limit= -8.2 (after subtracting MAG_TRANSIENT_ABOVE_THE_REFERENCE_FRAME_LIMIT=0.0)

Parameter box for transient search:    10.05.0 pix): 0
 * rejected as outliers in mag-size plot: 0
 * rejected as having SExtractor flags > 99 and <= 7: 0
 * rejected as having hopelessly bad SExtractor flags (>7): 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'.
    126582 * detected, using  498/ 500 * for reference/current image matching, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.009919, number_of_ambiguous_matches=1259 
refining the coordinate transformation... fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.009904, number_of_ambiguous_matches=1257 
114468 * matched, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.009904, number_of_ambiguous_matches=1257 
114468 * matched (2nd iteration). fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.009904, number_of_ambiguous_matches=1257 
114468 * matched (3rd iteration). Success!
  rotation [degrees] =   0.008
    126582 stars detected, 114468 stars matched
Performing magnitude calibration using automatically selected comparison stars
Expecting to find at least 40 * for magnitude calibration
We have N_good_stars = 93207, N_manually_selected_comparison_stars = 0
Using 93207 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 93203 stars for magnitude calibration.
Using the linear CCD position-dependent magnitude correction:
 delta_m = -0.00000*X_pix +0.00000*Y_pix -0.00060
Iteratively removing outliers from the mag-mag relation (weighted linear/polynomial fit)...
Computing robust linear magnitude calibration.
Used 89564 stars for magnitude calibration (after filtering).
get_detection_limit_sn(): Detection limit: -7.63
    139037 objects stored in memory (400000 max.)
Magnitude calibration is performed successfully!
Saving observations to the cache... OK
memory:  193112 kB used, 219096 kB peak, 65263848 kB available RAM
Total number of measurements 253505 (253505 measurements stored in RAM)
sorting the measurements cached in memory,
writing lightcurve (outNNNNN.dat) files...
processed 2 of 4 images ( 50.0%)



Processing  /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.fits
9576x6388 FITS image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.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: 2026-04-13T09:07:43.2173261
Setting observation time using DATE-OBS keyword: 2026-04-13T09:07:43.2173261

Observing time converted to the "standard" FITS header format:
DATE-OBS= 2026-04-13T09:07:43.217
EXPTIME = 20.000

Using the catalog image00003.cat SExtracted earlier from the image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-07-43_20.00sec_-4.90C_LIGHT_0491.fits
The star  8011.828    19.248 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7910.699    46.870 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7994.870    61.762 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8634.000    81.529 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7580.681    82.424 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8295.743   104.990 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7622.722   112.011 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7752.884   193.620 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8654.812   229.302 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7916.503   220.354 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
Excluding more stars falling at bad regions!.. (will not print them all)
SExtractor output filtering results:
 * passed selection: 29875
 * rejected as having no flux measurement: 0
 * rejected as having SNR<3.0: 3
 * rejected inside rectangles defined in bad_region.lst: 1281
 * rejected close to frame edge: 147
 * rejected as being too small (<1.2 pix): 0
 * rejected as being too large (>5.0 pix): 0
 * rejected as outliers in mag-size plot: 0
 * rejected as having SExtractor flags > 99 and <= 7: 0
 * rejected as having hopelessly bad SExtractor flags (>7): 97
 * 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'.
    29875 * detected, using  117/ 500 * for reference/current image matching, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000173, number_of_ambiguous_matches=24 
refining the coordinate transformation... fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000180, number_of_ambiguous_matches=25 
17568 * matched, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000180, number_of_ambiguous_matches=25 
17568 * matched (2nd iteration). fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000180, number_of_ambiguous_matches=25 
17568 * matched (3rd iteration). Success!
  rotation [degrees] = -172.658
    29875 stars detected, 17568 stars matched
Performing magnitude calibration using automatically selected comparison stars
Expecting to find at least 40 * for magnitude calibration
We have N_good_stars = 12497, N_manually_selected_comparison_stars = 0
Using 12497 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 10932 stars for magnitude calibration.
Using the linear CCD position-dependent magnitude correction:
 delta_m = 0.00023*X_pix +0.00004*Y_pix -0.92077
ERROR in magnitude calibration: fabs(lin_mag_A * X_im_size + lin_mag_C) > MAX_LIN_CORR_MAG
ERROR in magnitude calibration: fabs(lin_mag_A * X_im_size + lin_mag_B * Y_im_size + lin_mag_C) > MAX_LIN_CORR_MAG
Used 10932 stars for magnitude calibration (after filtering).
get_detection_limit_sn(): Detection limit: -7.66
 ERROR!!! Magnitude calibration failure. Dropping image. 
    139037 objects stored in memory (400000 max.)
The transient candidate (new frame position  2306.224  5463.789 ; ref frame position:  7497.415  1274.324) is rejected as at the reference frame it would land at a bad region listed in bad_region.lst
memory:  1878696 kB used, 1888948 kB peak, 65263848 kB available RAM
processed 3 of 4 images ( 75.0%)



Processing  /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.fits
9576x6388 FITS image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.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: 2026-04-13T09:08:36.3345930
Setting observation time using DATE-OBS keyword: 2026-04-13T09:08:36.3345930

Observing time converted to the "standard" FITS header format:
DATE-OBS= 2026-04-13T09:08:36.334
EXPTIME = 20.000

Using the catalog image00004.cat SExtracted earlier from the image /data_ssd/NMW-TexasTech/workdir//img_2026-04-13_CI_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_040920_TTUQ2b1x1_30738_yQrRk16G/fd_Cep-06-Q2b1x1_2026-04-13_04-08-36_20.00sec_-5.00C_LIGHT_0492.fits
The star  8009.447    17.544 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8653.593    18.367 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8970.618    38.461 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7909.899    46.627 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8631.514    80.190 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7578.065    80.981 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7620.142   110.571 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  8293.434   103.416 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7750.456   192.244 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
The star  7691.511   195.589 is rejected, see bad_region.lst
Excluding more stars falling at bad regions!.. (will not print them all)
SExtractor output filtering results:
 * passed selection: 29786
 * rejected as having no flux measurement: 0
 * rejected as having SNR<3.0: 6
 * rejected inside rectangles defined in bad_region.lst: 1473
 * rejected close to frame edge: 144
 * rejected as being too small (<1.2 pix): 0
 * rejected as being too large (>5.0 pix): 0
 * rejected as outliers in mag-size plot: 0
 * rejected as having SExtractor flags > 99 and <= 7: 0
 * rejected as having hopelessly bad SExtractor flags (>7): 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'.
    29786 * detected, using  117/ 500 * for reference/current image matching, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000316, number_of_ambiguous_matches=44 
refining the coordinate transformation... fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000151, number_of_ambiguous_matches=21 
16655 * matched, fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000144, number_of_ambiguous_matches=20 
16655 * matched (2nd iteration). fraction_of_ambiguous_matches= 0.000144, number_of_ambiguous_matches=20 
16655 * matched (3rd iteration). Success!
  rotation [degrees] = -172.665
    29786 stars detected, 16655 stars matched
Performing magnitude calibration using automatically selected comparison stars
Expecting to find at least 40 * for magnitude calibration
We have N_good_stars = 11655, N_manually_selected_comparison_stars = 0
Using 11655 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 9939 stars for magnitude calibration.
Using the linear CCD position-dependent magnitude correction:
 delta_m = 0.00026*X_pix +0.00002*Y_pix -0.94910
ERROR in magnitude calibration: fabs(lin_mag_A * X_im_size + lin_mag_C) > MAX_LIN_CORR_MAG
ERROR in magnitude calibration: fabs(lin_mag_A * X_im_size + lin_mag_B * Y_im_size + lin_mag_C) > MAX_LIN_CORR_MAG
Used 9939 stars for magnitude calibration (after filtering).
get_detection_limit_sn(): Detection limit: -7.67
 ERROR!!! Magnitude calibration failure. Dropping image. 
    139037 objects stored in memory (400000 max.)
memory:  1878696 kB used, 1888948 kB peak, 65263848 kB available RAM
processed 4 of 4 images (100.0%)
TIMING matching_and_photometry: 4 seconds
Done with measurements! =)

Total number of measurements 253505 (0 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 25299 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 32480 stars
Aperture with index 3 (REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER +0.10*REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER) seems best for 19615 stars
Aperture with index 4 (REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER +0.20*REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER) seems best for 12748 stars
Aperture with index 5 (REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER +0.30*REFERENCE_APERTURE_DIAMETER) seems best for 24326 stars

done!  =)
TIMING select_aperture: 5 seconds
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: 113933 objects, the longest string is 386 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 20 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-06-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 V36
############################################################
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: Mon Apr 13 04:11:22 CDT 2026
=======================================
FIELD_Cep-06-Q2b1x1: 139s (2.32 min)
=======================================
TOTAL_RUNTIME: 343s (5.72 min)
Finished: Mon Apr 13 04:17:05 CDT 2026