Subject: Registered Extension to FITS

From: <eso!pgrosbol at fits.cx.nrao.edu>
Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1991 10:24:45 GMT

Registered Extension to FITS
                        IAU FITS Working Group
                            Preben Grosbol
                             1991-Dec-10

Introduction
------------
 Extension to the basic FITS format can be defined as specified in
Grosbol et al. (Astron. Astrophys. Suppl. 73, p359-364, 1988). The IAU
FITS Working Group under Commission 5 registers the names of such
conforming extension. The status of a given extension can have one
of the following levels:

   Status   Remarks
  ---------------------------------------------------------------
     S      Standard FITS extension accepted by the IAU FITS WG
            and recommended by the IAU.
     P      Proposal for FITS extension accepted by local FITS
            committees but not yet by the IAU FITS WG.
     D      Draft proposal to be discussed in local FITS committees.
     R      Reserver FITS extension name for which a full draft proposal
            has not yet been submitted.
     L      Local FITS extension which has a limited scope only.

The table below gives a list of known names of FITS extension formats,
their status and reference organization:

      Ext-name   Status  Ref.   Remarks
   --------------------------------------------------------------------
     'TABLE   '    S     IAU    Defined in Astron. Astrophys. Suppl. 73,
                                p365-372, (1988).
    
     'BINTABLE'    D     IAU    Draft Proposal by W.Cotton and D.Tody
                                September 20, 1991.

     'IMAGE   '    R     IUE    Suggested extension name (by J.R.Munoz); 
                                No full proposal submitted.
     'FILEMARK'    R     NRAO   Suggested extension name (by D.Wells);
                                No full proposal submitted.
     'DUMP    '    R      -     Suggested extension name for binary dumps;
                                No full proposal submitted.

     'A3DTABLE'    L     NRAO   Extension used by AIPS and defined in
                                the 'Going AIPS' Manual Chapter 14.
     'IUEIMAGE'    L     IUE    Local extension defined for archiving
                                of special IUE data products.

Anyone who want to register a FITS extension name should contact either
the NASA FITS Support Office ('bschlesinger at nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov') or
the chairman of the IAU FITS Working Group ('pgrosbol at eso.org').
A short description and justification should be submitted together
with the request for registration.