image disappearing in single aperture mode

[wvinton]

I had a previous post regarding the image disappearing when in multi-aperture mode.

I haven't used AstroImageJ since then, but tried today, and the problem reappeared, and seems even more extensive:

1) If I try to do single aperture photometry, the image disappears as soon as I place the aperture and click it. The image is still listed in the "Window" list, but nothing I try (click on filename, tile, cascade, show all) causes it to actually reappear. If I do a "Close All" and reopen the window, the same thing happens.

2) If I try to do multi-aperture photometry, as soon as I click on the icon in either icon location, the image disappears - before I even try to place an aperture on the image. Again, image is listed in "Window" list.

I re-downloaded AstroImage, upgraded to the newest daily build. Problem the same.
Using MacOS 10.9.4, on MacBook Pro 13 inch, mid 2009 model.

Thanks.

[karenacollins]

I am now running OSX 10.9.4 on a Mac Mini and still have not been able
to duplicate this problem on my machine. Could you send me a sample
image that you are using when the display problem occurs, as well as a
copy of your AIJ_Prefs.txt file from the following folder:
/users/<username>/Library/Preferences/AIJ_Prefs.txt

Maybe these will help me to duplicate the problem on my end.
You can send them directly to me at karenacollins  ~~~aaattt~~~ outlook
~~~dddooottt~~~ com.

Karen

[wvinton]

I think I might have found the source of the issue. I started to take a screen recording of me opening AstroImageJ, opening an image, trying to multi-aperture photometry etc. to give you a vision of the problem, but in preparation for doing that, I closed most of the other programs I had open on my machine at the time - such as SkySafari (big memory). Then, when I actually opened AstroImageJ, opened my 16 bit  8MB .fits file, and then clicked on the multi-aperture tool - everything worked as it should! Single aperture also worked as it should.

So, thinking maybe the memory allotment given to AstroImageJ was the issue, I increased it from 650 MB to 2000 MB (I have 8 GB of RAM), restarted, and tried the procedure again. The only thing open was Firefox and the Finder. This time, the malfunction occurred - clicking on the multi-aperture tool caused the image to disappear.

I decreased memory to 1000 MB, restarted, and things worked fine. Then, without closing AstroImageJ, I opened up a bunch of programs, including SkySafari, and things still worked fine. I then closed AstroImageJ, leaving the other programs open, and then reopened AstroImageJ. This time the problem reappeared. Closing other programs, restarting AstroImageJ, and things returned to the way they were intended - multiaperture works as planned.

So, not being a computer expert, and based on the limited trouble-shooting I tried, it appears that if you open AstroImageJ into an environment that has many memory intensive programs already open, that the images disappear into some sort of memory hole (reminder, AstroImageJ still reports them as being open in the Window menu). If AstroImageJ is opened before these other programs, however, the memory issue apparently is handled differently, and things worked, at least in my quick testing. So, that's what I've got for now. Will keep you posted...

(This is a problem that appears unique to AstroImageJ - haven't seen anything like this happen in ordinary ImageJ.)

[karenacollins]

Nice find, and great info for troubleshooting! It does seem possible
that your problem is a memory issue. With 8 GB of RAM, you should be
fine to set AIJ's available memory to 6 GB. AIJ will only use what is
needed, and not more than the set limit (and of course not more than
what is available). I tried setting my AIJ max memory to 640 MB, 1000
MB, and 2000 MB, but still couldn't duplicate the problem. But, my
machine has 16 GB, so I've had a hard time filling up memory with other
programs.

The only thing that still gives me concern is the following scenario
that you mentioned:
So, thinking maybe the memory allotment given to AstroImageJ was the
issue, I increased it from 650 MB to 2000 MB (I have 8 GB of RAM),
restarted, and tried the procedure again. The only thing open was
Firefox and the Finder. This time, the malfunction occurred - clicking
on the multi-aperture tool caused the image to disappear.

Could you please click on the lower section of the AIJ Toolbar (where
messages are sometimes displayed) and make sure that you are running
64-bit java and that the memory matches what you have set? It will read
something like "ImageJ 1.47i; Java xx.xx [64-bit]; and then how much
memory is being used out of the total amount". If your machine is
somehow not set for 64-bit java or the memory is not as expected, we
need to get that reconfigured and see if the problem goes away.

Finally, I have made some minor tweaks in the latest 'daily build'. If
you have time, could you download that version and see if you can still
break the image display when you are stressing memory usage? If you have
another vanishing image situation, try Toolbar->Process->Math->Add (any
value such as 1.0) to see if the image reappears. This is not intended
to be a fix, but might be useful troubleshooting info.

I will look into finding a way to display an 'out-of-memory' message. In
the mean time, if you find any other clues, or find that if you start
AIJ with lots of memory allocated, and no other memory intensive
programs running, but still see your images disappearing, please let me
know any details that you can.

Karen

[wvinton]

I downloaded newest build, set memory at 2000 MB, and even with SkySafari open, things seemed to work okay - will keep you posted. Though, I seemed to run into a little trouble using single aperture mode - apertures wouldn't "set". If I go into multi-aperture and try some things, and then go back to single, that seemed to fix it.

The message on the AImageJ tool bar says "ImageJ 1.47i; Java 1.6.0_65 (64 bit); 18 MB of 2000 MB (<1%)" when I have a 16 bit, 8 MB .fits image open.

Thanks for all your help.