Subject: Re: FITS on the web

From: redshift at pursn3.physics.purdue.edu (Rollin C. Thomas)
Date: 4 Mar 1997 15:47:26 GMT

Paul Borlin (n9244366 at cc.wwu.edu) wrote:
: I have recently created a web page containing all the images our school has
: created.  The images are in several formats including FITS.  I have
: experience one problem.  All the browsers I have used want to load FITS
: (and ST6) files directly into the viewing window instead of downloading
: them.  The only thing I have been able to do to resolve this is to compress
: them, and I don't want to do that.  I've noticed that most FITS achives
: don't.  How do I get around this problem?

Perhaps instead of specifying a url like "http://blah.edu/whatever/image.fit"
you specify "ftp://blah.edu/whatever/" and have an anonymous ftp thingy
going?  

So I assume you guys use a SBIG ST-6?  We've got a Meade LX-200 16" with
a SBIG ST-6.  How you like the setup?  Do you use the CCDOPS program 
with it, or your own?  It annoys me how CCDOPS will write, but not read
FITS files...

Rollin

--
Dr. Rollin C. Thomas, Realm Assassin, afab  redshift at pursn3.physics.purdue.edu
	"Do not store Great Bluedini Kool-Aid in a metal container."

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From: stuart at ll.mit.edu (Joseph Scott Stuart)
Date: 04 Mar 1997 21:21:02 GMT

Have a look at the STScI DSS page
(http://stdatu.stsci.edu/dss/dss_form.html).  They have a button that
allows you to select whether you want the fits file to display or
download as a file.  You should be able to figure out what commands
they are using by looking at the HTML or at HTTP traffic.

scott

---

From: "Thomas A. McGlynn" <tam at silk.gsfc.nasa.gov>
Date: Fri, 07 Mar 1997 18:12:23 -0500

Paul Borlin wrote:
> 
> I have recently created a web page containing all the images our school has
> created.  The images are in several formats including FITS.  I have
> experience one problem.  All the browsers I have used want to load FITS
> (and ST6) files directly into the viewing window instead of downloading
> them.  The only thing I have been able to do to resolve this is to compress
> them, and I don't want to do that.  I've noticed that most FITS achives
> don't.  How do I get around this problem?
> 
> Paul Borlin
> Student at Western Washington University

This generally depends upon how you've set up the Mime types
on the server.  If you are indicating that the data is some
type that browsers interpret as an image, then when they download
the image they will grab an image.  Most likely you haven't specified
anything and the output is being treated as text and dumped
on the browser's screen.  Note that most browsers do have a
facility to grab something to disk even when it might normally
be displayed (e.g. on Netscape use a Right button click and then
use the Save Link option).

If you set up the Mime types such that the FITS files are designated
as an Octet-stream or some such, then most browsers will link onto
local disk immediately.  So look in your mime.types file...

Hope this helps,

		Tom McGlynn
		tam at silk.gsfc.nasa.gov