From owner-fitsbits at marmoset.cv.nrao.edu Thu May 1 06:26:37 1997 Received: (from majdom at localhost) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5: $Revision: 2.2 $) id GAA24446; œThu, 1 May 1997 06:26:37 -0400 Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5: $Revision: 2.2 $) with ESMTP id CAA20823; Thu, 1 May 1997 02:12:01 -0400 Received: from solitaire.cv.nrao.edu (news at solitaire.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.79]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.0/CV-2.2) with SMTP id CAA02702 for ; Thu, 1 May 1997 02:11:57 -0400 (EDT) Received: by solitaire.cv.nrao.edu (4.1/DDN-CV/1.10) id AA17217; Thu, 1 May 97 02:11:52 EDT To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Date: Mon, 28 Apr 1997 09:53:22 +0200 From: Lucio Chiappetti Message-Id: Organization: Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche Path: solitaire.cv.nrao.edu!newsgate.duke.edu!news.mathworks.com!news.maxwell.syr.edu!news-was.dfn.de!news-fra1.dfn.de!news-ge.switch.ch!serra.unipi.it!newsserver.cilea.it!leonardo.area.mi.cnr.it!poseidon.ifctr.mi.cnr.it!lucio References: <5jj42d$n9k$1 at news.ccit.arizona.edu> Subject: Re: Fits to JPEG or GIF Newsgroups: sci.astro.fits Sender: owner-fitsbits at marmoset.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk On 22 Apr 1997, Dana Irvin wrote: > Does anyone have or know of any apps that convert FITS images to JPEG or > GIF images? I need to to make an online image archive. If you can display them on the screen using any astronomical software (MIDAS, IRAF, SAOimage, IDL), you can then use "xv" to capture a GIF dump of the window (or portion of it). IDL can also read a dump of the current plot device (use Z buffer if you are not at an X-capable console) and output it as GIF. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lucio Chiappetti - IFCTR/CNR - via Bassini 15 - I-20133 Milano (Italy) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fuscim donca de Miragn E tornem a sta scio' in Bregn Che i fachign e i cortesagn Magl' insema no stagn begn Drizza la', compa' Tapogn (Rabisch, II 41, 96-99) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- For more info : http://www.ifctr.mi.cnr.it/~lucio/personal.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From owner-fitsbits at marmoset.cv.nrao.edu Wed May 7 11:54:47 1997 Received: (from majdom at localhost) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5: $Revision: 2.2 $) id LAA18049; œWed, 7 May 1997 11:54:47 -0400 Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5: $Revision: 2.2 $) with ESMTP id RAA08815; Tue, 6 May 1997 17:04:54 -0400 Received: from palantir.cv.nrao.edu (tismail at palantir.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.254]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.0/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id RAA00676 for ; Tue, 6 May 1997 17:04:51 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from tismail at localhost) by palantir.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) id RAA15094 for ; Tue, 6 May 1997 17:05:27 -0400 Received: from wheelo.gsfc.nasa.gov(128.183.50.20) by palantir.cv.nrao.edu via smap (V1.3) id sma015092; Tue May 6 17:05:22 1997 Received: from tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov (tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov [128.183.127.109]) by wheelo.gsfc.nasa.gov (8.8.5/8.8.4) with SMTP id RAA01306 for ; Tue, 6 May 1997 17:04:01 -0400 (EDT) Received: by tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov (SMI-8.6/SMI-SVR4) id RAA24368; Tue, 6 May 1997 17:03:51 -0400 Date: Tue, 6 May 1997 17:03:51 -0400 From: pence at tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov (William Pence) Message-Id: <199705062103.RAA24368 at tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov> To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Subject: fv version 2.0 is available Cc: pence at tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov X-Sun-Charset: US-ASCII Sender: owner-fitsbits at marmoset.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk Fv 2.0 Release Announcement 6 May 1997 Version 2.0 of fv, a standalone Tcl/Tk program for viewing and editing any FITS format data file, is now available from the HEASARC (High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center) at NASA/GSFC. The fv software distribution ships with everything you need to build (i.e. you do not need Tcl/Tk already installed on your machine). Fv has the following features: - A summary window lists the contents and size of all the extensions in the FITS file. - FITS headers may be displayed in a scrolling text window. Keywords may be edited, inserted, or deleted, and an ASCII text listing of the header may be generated. - FITS images may be displayed with the usual pan, zoom, and color table manipulation facilities. Users may choose to use the SAOtng image display tool (available separately from SAO), or the internal image display widget called POW that is supplied with fv. - Selected columns in a FITS table may be viewed in a scrolling spread sheet. The values in the table may be edited, and rows and columns may be inserted or deleted in the table. The contents of the table may be saved to an ASCII text file. - Line plots of one or more columns in a table may be generated. Plots are displayed using the POW widget. The user may then zoom in on any area of interest in the plot. The plots may be saved and printed in postscript format. Fv currently runs on many Unix platforms, including SUN O/S, SUN Solaris, Dec OSF, and Linux PCs. (Versions for the Windows NT/95 and Mac operating systems are under development). Instructions for installing fv may be obtained from the Web site at: http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/ftools/fv.html Questions about fv should be sent to: ftoolshelp at athena.gsfc.nasa.gov. -------- The fv development team currently consists of: William Pence: Project Scientist, author of CFITSIO Jianjun Xu: Tcl/Tk programmer, author of fv and fitsTcl Lawrence Brown: Tcl/Tk programmer, author of POW From owner-fitsbits at marmoset.cv.nrao.edu Thu May 8 11:48:40 1997 Received: (from majdom at localhost) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5: $Revision: 2.2 $) id LAA24744; œThu, 8 May 1997 11:48:40 -0400 Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5: $Revision: 2.2 $) with ESMTP id LAA24681; Thu, 8 May 1997 11:27:44 -0400 Received: from solitaire.cv.nrao.edu (news at solitaire.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.79]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.0/CV-2.2) with SMTP id LAA18272 for ; Thu, 8 May 1997 11:27:38 -0400 (EDT) Received: by solitaire.cv.nrao.edu (4.1/DDN-CV/1.10) id AA25277; Thu, 8 May 97 11:27:34 EDT To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Date: Thu, 08 May 1997 01:05:54 +0000 From: Robert Place Message-Id: <337126F2.7C18 at epix.net> Organization: epix Internet Services Path: solitaire.cv.nrao.edu!out2.nntp.cais.net!news2.cais.com!in1.nntp.cais.net!tezcat!cam-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!news.maxwell.syr.edu!news-out.communique.net!communique!news1.epix.net!not-for-mail References: <33705F0A.614D at msi.campus-ventures.co.uk> Reply-To: ecalpwr at epix.net Subject: Re: Fitswin95 version 1.2 released Newsgroups: sci.astro.fits Sender: owner-fitsbits at marmoset.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk Mark Robinson wrote: > > Hi > > MSI have released version 1.2 of their 32bit Windows FITS viewer > program. Follow the latest releases link from out home page > http://msi.campus-ventures.co.uk/ to download it. > > If you already use version 1.1, just unzip this new version over it, > otherwise just unzip it and run. > > We want to make this the definitive 32 bit Windows FITS viewer, > so any comments or bug reports are welcome. > > --Blatent advert follows! > > While you are there, why not download MSImage and try out our on-line > cooled CCD camera. As far as we know, this is the only online 16 bit > cooled CCD camera. Also, rather than just being a demo, you can download > and use the actual software that is supplied with the camera (and can > even write programs using the API to control it) because MSI cameras > have a TCP/IP interface option. > > Cheers > > mark-r > > -- > Manchester Scientific Instruments | There's lies, damned lies > Campus Ventures Centre | and amplifier power ratings. > Oxford Rd. Manchester. M13 9PL, UK | -- Bluffers Guide to Hi-Fi. > http://msi.campus-ventures.co.uk/ Yes but what if I already have FITS 1.3 ? From owner-fitsbits at marmoset.cv.nrao.edu Thu May 8 14:14:14 1997 Received: (from majdom at localhost) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5: $Revision: 2.2 $) id OAA25126; œThu, 8 May 1997 14:14:14 -0400 Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5: $Revision: 2.2 $) with ESMTP id NAA25002; Thu, 8 May 1997 13:17:54 -0400 Received: from solitaire.cv.nrao.edu (news at solitaire.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.79]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.0/CV-2.2) with SMTP id NAA19089 for ; Thu, 8 May 1997 13:17:51 -0400 (EDT) Received: by solitaire.cv.nrao.edu (4.1/DDN-CV/1.10) id AA27671; Thu, 8 May 97 13:17:49 EDT To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Date: 6 May 1997 13:36 EDT From: bschlesinger at nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov (Barry M. Schlesinger) Message-Id: <6MAY199713364935 at nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov> Organization: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center -- Greenbelt, Maryland USA Path: solitaire.cv.nrao.edu!newsgate.duke.edu!news.mathworks.com!europa.clark.net!feed1.news.erols.com!howland.erols.net!newshub2.home.com!newshub1.home.com!news.home.com!nick.arc.nasa.gov!newsfeed.gsfc.nasa.gov!nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov!bschlesinger Reply-To: fits at nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov Subject: Sources of FITS Information Newsgroups: sci.astro.fits,sci.answers,news.answers Sender: owner-fitsbits at marmoset.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk Archive-name: astronomy/fits/info-sources Last-modified: 1997/05/05 -------- Sources of FITS Information Preface This material on sources of Flexible Image Transport System (FITS) information is posted and updated periodically by the FITS Support Office at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). It discusses where general FITS information, including some answers to frequently asked questions, can be found, and provides sources for detailed information on FITS software and documentation. ------- FITS Support Office The FITS Support Office maintains a library of FITS information accessible from http://ssdoo.gsfc.nasa.gov/astro/fits/fits_home.html or ftp://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/pub/fits/. The material available includes o "Definition of FITS", a codification of FITS for the NASA/Science Office of Standards and Technology (NOST), available in LaTeX, uncompressed PostScript, compressed PostScript and (often) ASCII text o "A User's Guide to FITS", published by the FITS Support Office, in LaTeX, and compressed and uncompressed PostScript o Revisions to version 1.0 of the "Definition of FITS" covering the specification of units, which were incorporated into version 1.1 (text) o A current list of the extension type (structure) names registered with the International Astronomical Union FITS Working Group (IAUFWG) (text) o Rules for physical blocking on various media adopted by the IAUFWG (text) In the same directory but accessible directly via http://ssdoo.gsfc.nasa.gov/astro/fits/basics_info.html is the FITS Basics and Information that used to be regularly posted to sci.astro.fits and sci.data.formats. It continues to be revised to reflect current FITS developments. It contains the following material: o An overview of FITS o A list of FITS documents o A list of software packages that support FITS, including FITS <--> image converters for various platforms o A list of on-line FITS resources o A description of the FITS Support Office The hypertext version provides links to many of the documents, software, and network locations listed. The text version provides information on how to obtain much of this material. There is also a hypertext version of the List of Registered Extensions. Links from the Web page and subdirectories of the ftp directory contain o Software developed by the FITS Support Office. o Error test files: primary HDUs useful for testing the ability of software designed to read FITS files to cope with files that have errors or are non-standard. These files should be downloaded in binary form. Printed copies of the material in the FITS directory can be obtained from the Coordinated Request and User Support Office (CRUSO): (Postal) Coordinated Request and User Support Office Code 633 National Space Science Data Center NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt MD 20771 USA (Electronic mail) request at nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov (Telephone) +1-301-286-6695 8:00 A. M. - 4:30 P.M. U. S. Eastern Time (-0500 from the last Sunday in October through the first Saturday in April; -0400 the remainder of the year) When no one is available, messages can be left on voice mail. (FAX) +1-301-286-1635 ------- National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) A FITS Archive can be found at URL http://fits.cv.nrao.edu/ or at ftp://fits.cv.nrao.edu/fits, located at NRAO. This machine supports a WAIS server named nrao-fits which has an index of all of the FITS-related text files in the archive; the file nrao-fits.src is available at ftp://fits.cv.nrao.edu/fits/wais-sources/nrao-fits.src. Some of the more noteworthy materials in this archive are o Text of any detailed proposals currently being discussed by the FITS committees o Drafts of other formally proposed additions to the FITS standard and of potential future proposals o A collection of documents on World Coordinate Systems, including the current draft proposal o Conventions specific to particular projects or disciplines o Software for various environments and Usenet postings about code o Sample data and special test files designed to measure the ability of a FITS reader to handle a wide variety of FITS files o Archives of traffic on FITS-related newsgroups and exploders A separate NRAO site, http://www.cv.nrao.edu/~bcotton/fitsview.html, provides information on the FITSview family of software packages for display of FITS images on Microsoft Windows 3.1 and Windows 95, Apple Macintosh, and Unix/X-Windows, with links to the software. It also links to a number of sources of astronomical FITS images. ------- HEASARC The NASA/Goddard High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (HEASARC) Web server at http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/heasarc/fits.html and the anonymous ftp access through ftp://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/fits_info/ provide FITS material. HEASARC has developed the FITSIO package of software routines for easily reading and writing FITS files, with FORTRAN and C versions available, portable to a wide variety of machines. There are also the FTOOLS collection of software tools, the VERIFITS FITS conformance verifier, and the fv FITS file viewer and editor. HEASARC software is available directly through http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/heasarc/tech_res_software.html or ftp://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/fits_info/software/ . The HEASARC server also provides information from the HEASARC FITS Working Group, (HFWG) the internal legislative body on FITS-related matters within the Office of Guest Investigator Programs (OGIP) at NASA/GSFC, at http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/heasarc/ofwg/ofwg_intro.html or at ftp://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/fits_info/ in the directories ofwg_minutes and ofwg_recomm. The HFWG has developed a number of FITS conventions that are more specific than the requirements of the FITS standards. Proposed conventions are publicized to the FITS community as a whole, with the goal of collaborative development of a set of conventions that will be accepted throughout the community as well as within OGIP/HEASARC. ------- Direct questions about this posting to Barry M. Schlesinger Coordinator, FITS Support Office Electronic mail: fits at nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov Telephone: +1-301-286-2899 The FITS Support Office is operated under the guidance of the NASA/GSFC Astrophysics Data Facility. From owner-fitsbits at marmoset.cv.nrao.edu Thu May 8 15:20:32 1997 Received: (from majdom at localhost) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5: $Revision: 2.2 $) id PAA25350; œThu, 8 May 1997 15:20:32 -0400 Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5: $Revision: 2.2 $) with ESMTP id PAA25329; Thu, 8 May 1997 15:18:30 -0400 Received: from solitaire.cv.nrao.edu (news at solitaire.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.79]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.0/CV-2.2) with SMTP id PAA19964 for ; Thu, 8 May 1997 15:18:27 -0400 (EDT) Received: by solitaire.cv.nrao.edu (4.1/DDN-CV/1.10) id AA02909; Thu, 8 May 97 15:18:25 EDT To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Date: 6 May 1997 14:37 EDT From: bschlesinger at nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov (Barry M. Schlesinger) Message-Id: <6MAY199714371731 at nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov> Organization: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center -- Greenbelt, Maryland USA Path: solitaire.cv.nrao.edu!newsgate.duke.edu!news.mathworks.com!howland.erols.net!newshub2.home.com!newshub1.home.com!news.home.com!nick.arc.nasa.gov!newsfeed.gsfc.nasa.gov!nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov!bschlesinger Subject: ANNOUNCE: FITS User's Guide version 4.0 Available Newsgroups: sci.astro.fits Sender: owner-fitsbits at marmoset.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk Version 4.0 of the NASA/ADF FITS Support Office User's Guide to the Flexible Image Transport System (FITS) is now available, in LaTeX, PostScript, and gzipped PostScript formats. The choice of gzip rather than .Z is based on two factors: gzip is not a proprietary format, and the compressed files are smaller. Printed copies also can be ordered. There are several changes from version 3.1. Discussion of the BINTABLE and IMAGE extensions is now part of the section on FITS fundamentals. Discussion of the variable length, multidimensional, and substring array conventions, which are in the BINTABLE paper but were not formally endorsed by the IAUFWG, remains in the chapter on Advanced FITS. The discussion of physical blocking is now based on the provisions endorsed by the IAU FITS Working Group and is included in the section on FITS Fundamentals. The section on World Coordinates has been revised to reflect the modifications to the Greisen and Calabretta proposal since version 3.1 of the User's Guide was published and some community discussion about the proposal. Descriptions of many proposed conventions have been added to the Advanced FITS chapter, among them the checksum proposal, the logical grouping convention, HEASARC keywords, inheritance, and world coordinates keywords, especially for use in tables. The description of FITS resources now emphasizes network and World Wide Web sources of information. Three sample headers have been added to the Appendix: for an ASCII table containing a catalog and for binary tables containing infrared and high energy data. The User's Guide is available on-line from ftp://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/pub/fits/users_guide.*, where * is tex for the LaTeX version, ps for the PostScript version and ps.gz for the gzipped PostScript version. The guide.sty style file must be used to run the LaTeX version. Printed copies of the User's Guide can be obtained from the Coordinated Request and User Support Office (CRUSO), open 8:00 A.M. to 4:30 P. M. U. S. Eastern Time (GMT -4 until October 26, 1997). (Electronic mail) request at nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov (Telephone) +1-301-286-6695 (has phone mail) (Postal) Coordinated Request User Support Office (CRUSO) Code 633, National Space Science Data Center NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, USA Barry Schlesinger FITS Support Office GSFC/ADF From owner-fitsbits at marmoset.cv.nrao.edu Fri May 9 10:14:51 1997 Received: (from majdom at localhost) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5: $Revision: 2.2 $) id KAA02115; œFri, 9 May 1997 10:14:51 -0400 Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5: $Revision: 2.2 $) with ESMTP id JAA02022; Fri, 9 May 1997 09:45:53 -0400 Received: from solitaire.cv.nrao.edu (news at solitaire.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.79]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.0/CV-2.2) with SMTP id JAA27539 for ; Fri, 9 May 1997 09:45:50 -0400 (EDT) Received: by solitaire.cv.nrao.edu (4.1/DDN-CV/1.10) id AA05470; Fri, 9 May 97 09:45:48 EDT To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Date: 7 May 1997 11:19 EDT From: bschlesinger at nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov (Barry M. Schlesinger) Message-Id: <7MAY199711194756 at nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov> Organization: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center -- Greenbelt, Maryland USA Path: solitaire.cv.nrao.edu!newsgate.duke.edu!news.mathworks.com!news-peer.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!Sprint!howland.erols.net!newshub2.home.com!newshub1.home.com!news.home.com!nick.arc.nasa.gov!newsfeed.gsfc.nasa.gov!nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov!bschlesinger Subject: Four-digit year (Year 2000) proposal on FITS Office ftp site Newsgroups: sci.astro.fits Sender: owner-fitsbits at marmoset.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk A copy of the proposal by Peter Bunclark for revising the standard form of values of the DATExxxx keywords to provide a 4-digit year has been placed on the FITS Support Office ftp site at ftp://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/pub/fits/year2000_proposal.txt. The file also contains the endorsement and recommendations from the European FITS Committee. Barry Schlesinger FITS Support Office GSFC/ADF From owner-fitsbits at marmoset.cv.nrao.edu Fri May 9 10:16:08 1997 Received: (from majdom at localhost) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5: $Revision: 2.2 $) id KAA02134; œFri, 9 May 1997 10:16:08 -0400 Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5: $Revision: 2.2 $) with ESMTP id DAA00962; Fri, 9 May 1997 03:24:36 -0400 Received: from solitaire.cv.nrao.edu (news at solitaire.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.79]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.0/CV-2.2) with SMTP id DAA24962 for ; Fri, 9 May 1997 03:24:33 -0400 (EDT) Received: by solitaire.cv.nrao.edu (4.1/DDN-CV/1.10) id AA26905; Fri, 9 May 97 03:24:30 EDT To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Date: Wed, 07 May 1997 11:52:58 +0100 From: Mark Robinson Message-Id: <33705F0A.614D at msi.campus-ventures.co.uk> Organization: Manchester Scientific Instruments Ltd Path: solitaire.cv.nrao.edu!newsgate.duke.edu!news.mathworks.com!howland.erols.net!rill.news.pipex.net!pipex!Aladdin!aladdin.net!ns2.aladdin.net!RMplc!yama.mcc.ac.uk!usenet Reply-To: mark-r at msi.campus-ventures.co.uk Subject: Fitswin95 version 1.2 released Newsgroups: sci.astro.fits Sender: owner-fitsbits at marmoset.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk Hi MSI have released version 1.2 of their 32bit Windows FITS viewer program. Follow the latest releases link from out home page http://msi.campus-ventures.co.uk/ to download it. If you already use version 1.1, just unzip this new version over it, otherwise just unzip it and run. We want to make this the definitive 32 bit Windows FITS viewer, so any comments or bug reports are welcome. --Blatent advert follows! While you are there, why not download MSImage and try out our on-line cooled CCD camera. As far as we know, this is the only online 16 bit cooled CCD camera. Also, rather than just being a demo, you can download and use the actual software that is supplied with the camera (and can even write programs using the API to control it) because MSI cameras have a TCP/IP interface option. Cheers mark-r -- Manchester Scientific Instruments | There's lies, damned lies Campus Ventures Centre | and amplifier power ratings. Oxford Rd. Manchester. M13 9PL, UK | -- Bluffers Guide to Hi-Fi. http://msi.campus-ventures.co.uk/ From owner-fitsbits at marmoset.cv.nrao.edu Mon May 12 15:14:56 1997 Received: (from majdom at localhost) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5: $Revision: 2.2 $) id PAA23840; œMon, 12 May 1997 15:14:56 -0400 Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5: $Revision: 2.2 $) with ESMTP id PAA23810; Mon, 12 May 1997 15:11:38 -0400 Received: from solitaire.cv.nrao.edu (news at solitaire.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.79]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.0/CV-2.2) with SMTP id PAA29281 for ; Mon, 12 May 1997 15:11:33 -0400 (EDT) Received: by solitaire.cv.nrao.edu (4.1/DDN-CV/1.10) id AA17638; Mon, 12 May 97 15:11:29 EDT To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Date: 12 May 1997 19:11:20 GMT From: dwells at nrao.edu (Don Wells) Message-Id: Organization: nrao Path: solitaire.cv.nrao.edu!news.cv.nrao.edu!dwells References: <6MAY199714371731 at nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov> Subject: Re: ANNOUNCE: FITS User's Guide version 4.0 Available Newsgroups: sci.astro.fits Sender: owner-fitsbits at marmoset.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk Dear friends of FITS, "BMS" == Barry M Schlesinger writes: BMS> Version 4.0 of the NASA/ADF FITS Support Office User's Guide to the BMS> Flexible Image Transport System (FITS) is now available.. BMS> ftp://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/pub/fits/users_guide.* The FITS User's Guide is definitely a good thing, and users of the FITS data format should study it. Newcomers to the world of FITS should pay special attention to its treatments of FITS evolution, of FITS work-in-progress and of the differences of FITS style present in different parts of our community. Its recommended-practice advice should be considered carefully by creators of astronomy datasystems and archives. Barry Schlesinger, the editor of the Guide, has worded his discussions of these complex--and sometimes controversial--topics with sensitivity, balance and fairness. I have a high regard for his work. The FITS User's Guide was proposed at a meeting organized by the NASA Astrophysics division and held in Annapolis, MD, in 1987. It was to accompany the formal FITS standard; the idea was that there are many FITS issues which need to be discussed as guidance for implementors and users, but which don't fit into the FITS standard document. The first version of the Guide (edited by Barry Geldzahler) appeared circa 1989, eight years ago. The successive releases, at intervals of several years, have steadily expanded the coverage of the Guide and, with this Version 4.0, the User's Guide can now claim to discuss--at some level--essentially every issue which arises in the use of the FITS data format in astronomy. It is greatly to the credit of the NASA Astrophysics division that they not only had the vision to start this project, but that they have also had the patience and faith to continue to operate the FITS Support Office so that this evolutionary process could proceed year after year. I hope that we will see, eventually, Version 5.0 of the Guide. The sci.astro.fits/fitsbits readership can contribute to this steady revision and expansion of the FITS User's Guide by sending corrections, suggestions and proposed new text to Barry Schlesinger at the Email address given above. -Don Wells (Chair, IAU FITS Working Group) -- Donald C. Wells Associate Scientist dwells at nrao.edu http://fits.cv.nrao.edu/~dwells National Radio Astronomy Observatory +1-804-296-0277 520 Edgemont Road, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903-2475 USA From owner-fitsbits at marmoset.cv.nrao.edu Mon May 19 14:59:57 1997 Received: (from majdom at localhost) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5: $Revision: 2.2 $) id OAA02478; œMon, 19 May 1997 14:59:57 -0400 Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5: $Revision: 2.2 $) with ESMTP id NAA02281; Mon, 19 May 1997 13:54:03 -0400 Received: from solitaire.cv.nrao.edu (news at solitaire.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.79]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.0/CV-2.2) with SMTP id NAA20996 for ; Mon, 19 May 1997 13:53:59 -0400 (EDT) Received: by solitaire.cv.nrao.edu (4.1/DDN-CV/1.10) id AA08168; Mon, 19 May 97 13:53:55 EDT To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Date: 17 May 1997 18:04:24 GMT From: pkirchg at aol.com (Pkirchg) Message-Id: <19970517220400.SAA00613 at ladder02.news.aol.com> Organization: AOL Bertelsmann Online GmbH & Co. KG http://www.germany.aol.com Path: solitaire.cv.nrao.edu!newsgate.duke.edu!news.mathworks.com!news-peer.gsl.net!portc01.blue.aol.com!audrey02.news.aol.com!not-for-mail Subject: New FITS reader and writer Newsgroups: sci.astro.fits Sender: owner-fitsbits at marmoset.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk Hello, are there any astronomers out there which are using the GIMP, the GNU Image Manipulation Program ? There is now a FITS- plug-in available for reading and writing FITS-files. Currently GIMP is available in Version 0.99.9 at http://www.XCF.Berkeley.EDU/~gimp/gimp.html and will soon (?) be at V 1.00. The sources for the FITS-plug-in are available at ftp://members.aol.com/pkirchg/pub/gimp At the same place, there is also an executable for Linux/ELF-386. Good luck Peter (pkirchg at aol.com, http://www.members.aol.com/pkirchg) From owner-fitsbits at marmoset.cv.nrao.edu Tue May 27 11:12:31 1997 Received: (from majdom at localhost) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5: $Revision: 2.2 $) id LAA31021; œTue, 27 May 1997 11:12:31 -0400 Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5: $Revision: 2.2 $) with ESMTP id XAA27548; Mon, 26 May 1997 23:24:28 -0400 Received: from solitaire.cv.nrao.edu (news at solitaire.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.79]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.0/CV-2.2) with SMTP id XAA23733 for ; Mon, 26 May 1997 23:24:24 -0400 (EDT) Received: by solitaire.cv.nrao.edu (4.1/DDN-CV/1.10) id AA23593; Mon, 26 May 97 23:24:21 EDT To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Date: Mon, 26 May 1997 22:45:27 -0400 From: Peter Teuben Message-Id: <338A4AC7.1FF70E8 at astro.umd.edu> Organization: Astronomy Department, University of Maryland Path: solitaire.cv.nrao.edu!newsgate.duke.edu!news.mathworks.com!enews.sgi.com!newshub1.home.com!news.home.com!nick.arc.nasa.gov!purdue!haven.umd.edu!hecate.umd.edu!not-for-mail References: <338A386C.4B0B at mpb.gsfc.nasa.gov> Subject: Re: Implicit Images in FITS? Newsgroups: sci.astro.fits Sender: owner-fitsbits at marmoset.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk Wayne Landsman wrote: > > Is anyone aware of any proposals to allow "implicit images" in FITS? > For example, to store an image of constant intensity, one could specify > the size of the image and the constant value in the header. This > information is sufficient to reconstruct the image, so that the explicit > data portion of the FITS file need not be specified. > > --Wayne Landsman landsman at mpb.gsfc.nasa.gov No, but I have a hard time cooking up such a proposal. Once the BITPIX, NAXIS, NAXIS1, NAXIS2 etc. have been set to define the image, it expects data....So an alternate IAXIS, IAXIS1, .... would have to be defined. The next thing this proposal would want to do it to allow the image be an analytical expression. Another example of something that can easily run over an 80-character card length. - peter From owner-fitsbits at marmoset.cv.nrao.edu Tue May 27 11:11:58 1997 Received: (from majdom at localhost) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5: $Revision: 2.2 $) id LAA31015; œTue, 27 May 1997 11:11:58 -0400 Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5: $Revision: 2.2 $) with ESMTP id WAA27413; Mon, 26 May 1997 22:08:36 -0400 Received: from solitaire.cv.nrao.edu (news at solitaire.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.79]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.0/CV-2.2) with SMTP id WAA23612 for ; Mon, 26 May 1997 22:08:31 -0400 (EDT) Received: by solitaire.cv.nrao.edu (4.1/DDN-CV/1.10) id AA21136; Mon, 26 May 97 22:08:27 EDT To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Date: Mon, 26 May 1997 21:27:08 -0400 From: Wayne Landsman Message-Id: <338A386C.4B0B at mpb.gsfc.nasa.gov> Organization: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center -- Greenbelt, Maryland USA Path: solitaire.cv.nrao.edu!newsgate.duke.edu!news.mathworks.com!europa.clark.net!news.msfc.nasa.gov!centauri.hq.nasa.gov!newsfeed.gsfc.nasa.gov!usenet Subject: Implicit Images in FITS? Newsgroups: sci.astro.fits Sender: owner-fitsbits at marmoset.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk Is anyone aware of any proposals to allow "implicit images" in FITS? For example, to store an image of constant intensity, one could specify the size of the image and the constant value in the header. This information is sufficient to reconstruct the image, so that the explicit data portion of the FITS file need not be specified. --Wayne Landsman landsman at mpb.gsfc.nasa.gov From owner-fitsbits at marmoset.cv.nrao.edu Wed May 28 12:48:44 1997 Received: (from majdom at localhost) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5: $Revision: 2.2 $) id MAA04071; œWed, 28 May 1997 12:48:44 -0400 Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5: $Revision: 2.2 $) with ESMTP id TAA31950; Tue, 27 May 1997 19:20:01 -0400 Received: from solitaire.cv.nrao.edu (news at solitaire.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.79]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.0/CV-2.2) with SMTP id TAA27787 for ; Tue, 27 May 1997 19:19:57 -0400 (EDT) Received: by solitaire.cv.nrao.edu (4.1/DDN-CV/1.10) id AA27193; Tue, 27 May 97 19:19:55 EDT To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Date: 27 May 1997 12:42:13 GMT From: bushouse at chac.stsci.edu (Howard A. Bushouse) Message-Id: <5mekr5$9a at tnm.stsci.edu> Organization: Space Telescope Science Institute Path: solitaire.cv.nrao.edu!newsgate.duke.edu!news.mathworks.com!cam-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!ncar!noao!stsci.edu!usenet References: <338A386C.4B0B at mpb.gsfc.nasa.gov> <338A4AC7.1FF70E8 at astro.umd.edu> Reply-To: bushouse at stsci.edu Subject: Re: Implicit Images in FITS? Newsgroups: sci.astro.fits Sender: owner-fitsbits at marmoset.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk In article <338A4AC7.1FF70E8 at astro.umd.edu>, Peter Teuben writes: |> Wayne Landsman wrote: |> > |> > Is anyone aware of any proposals to allow "implicit images" in FITS? |> > For example, to store an image of constant intensity, one could specify |> > the size of the image and the constant value in the header. This |> > information is sufficient to reconstruct the image, so that the explicit |> > data portion of the FITS file need not be specified. |> > |> > --Wayne Landsman landsman at mpb.gsfc.nasa.gov |> |> |> No, but I have a hard time cooking up such a proposal. Once the |> BITPIX, NAXIS, NAXIS1, NAXIS2 etc. have been set to define the |> image, it expects data....So an alternate IAXIS, IAXIS1, .... would |> have to be defined. |> The next thing this proposal would want to do it to allow the |> image be an analytical expression. Another example of something |> that can easily run over an 80-character card length. |> |> - peter Wayne and Peter, The STScI recently adopted (as an internal convention only) such a scheme, but have not proposed it as a supported mode. The convention sets BITPIX to whatever is required for the implicit image, but NAXIS=0 because there is no actual image data. We then use the additional keywords NPIX1, NPIX2 to define the size of the implicit image, and the keyword PIXVALE to set its' (constant) value. Our data I/O interfaces are in turn setup to recognize such an implicit image and when reading one, automatically constructs the image portion to return to a calling program. -Howard From owner-fitsbits at marmoset.cv.nrao.edu Wed May 28 12:52:58 1997 Received: (from majdom at localhost) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5: $Revision: 2.2 $) id MAA04092; œWed, 28 May 1997 12:52:58 -0400 Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5: $Revision: 2.2 $) with ESMTP id UAA32165; Tue, 27 May 1997 20:41:38 -0400 Received: from solitaire.cv.nrao.edu (news at solitaire.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.79]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.0/CV-2.2) with SMTP id UAA28361 for ; Tue, 27 May 1997 20:41:35 -0400 (EDT) Received: by solitaire.cv.nrao.edu (4.1/DDN-CV/1.10) id AA00165; Tue, 27 May 97 20:41:30 EDT To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Date: 27 May 1997 21:51:07 GMT From: seaman at noao.edu (Rob Seaman) Message-Id: <5mfl0c$8m6 at noao.edu> Organization: National Optical Astronomy Observatories, Tucson, AZ, USA Path: solitaire.cv.nrao.edu!newsgate.duke.edu!news.mathworks.com!cam-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!ncar!noao!seaman References: <338A386C.4B0B at mpb.gsfc.nasa.gov> <338A4AC7.1FF70E8 at astro.umd.edu> <5mekr5$9a at tnm.stsci.edu> Subject: Re: Implicit Images in FITS? Newsgroups: sci.astro.fits Sender: owner-fitsbits at marmoset.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk Note that an "implicit image" is just a special case of the broader issue of image compression. While a method for representing a function as an image is undoubtedly useful for certain purposes, we should really attend to the larger problem. This is also a variation of the question of how to support non-FITS data structures within FITS. FITS provides a particular model for representing data, and it may not be obvious how to map an outside data structure (especially non-array data) onto FITS objects. It is not obvious (to me, anyway) that conveying such a functional surface as an image is the best possible choice. This just transfers the burden from other I/O interfaces (e.g., IRAF parameter settings or database files) for inputting and representing such a function. An image representation does allow including the function with the data, but at the cost of a non-standard FITS object. Special tools will have to used to create and edit the functions, rather than just editing a parameter or a text file. This also introduces the reverse problem of how to represent these project specific FITS files as other image formats (IRAF .imh images, whatever), since these other image formats won't support these facilities. As Peter points out, the fundamental FITS naxisN keywords can't be used in a simple FITS file to define the extent of the implicit image (the allowed domain of the function). Allowing such FITS objects to closely resemble real images would otherwise be among the strongest arguments for supporting them. Note that it would be possible for a FITS extension, however, to use the naxisN keywords as normal, since PCOUNT could be provided with an offsetting negative value, i.e.: PCOUNT = - (NAXIS1 x NAXIS2 x ... x NAXISm) where NAXIS = m. A negative PCOUNT is legal - does anybody know of another example of negative values? Such objects would likely be best represented as simple FITS tables. This provides the same functionality of: 1) associating an extension header specifically with the FITS object 2) acting as a place holder extension - albeit of a different type (for error arrays or what have you that might only be generated later in the reduction pipeline) but also supports: 3) an easy way to extract the information into a data object to be used with an alternate non-FITS image format - just copy the table into a separate FITS (or IRAF, or text, or whatever format) table Rob Seaman -- seaman at noao.edu, http://iraf.noao.edu/~seaman NOAO, 950 N Cherry Ave, Tucson AZ 85719, 520-318-8248 PGP: 98 8D 8B 49 74 9A 41 88 3A 43 87 54 51 BF 30 4B