As a relative newcomer to Astrophotography, I struggled with post processing using GIMP and other non-aware astro software; then stumbled upon Star Tools a year ago and haven't looked back. Great for beginners to guide and encourage their efforts and awesome for advanced users with the latest features being rolled out by Ivo and team squeezing the max out of image data. Support is second to none; highly recommend and endorse!
As a relative newcomer to Astrophotography, I struggled with post processing using GIMP and other non-aware astro software; then stumbled upon Star Tools a year ago and haven't looked back.
The Heal module was created to provide a means of substituting unwanted pixels in an neutral way.
Final signal compositing is delayed until it is convenient and mathematically optimal.
You can convert everything you see to a format you find convenient. Give it a try!