Software for producing trichromatic images in astronomy

We present a software package for combining three monochromatic images of an astronomical object into a trichromatic color image. We first discuss the meaning of true colors in astronomical images. We then describe the different steps of our method, choosing the relevant dynamic intensity range in each filter, inventorying the different colors, optimizing the color map, modifying the balance of colors, and enhancing contrasts at low intensity levels. While the first steps are automatic, the last two are interactive.