From owner-fitsbits at kochab.cv.nrao.edu Fri May 1 13:50:11 1998 Received: (from majordom at localhost) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) id NAA23593 for fitsbits-spinner; Fri, 1 May 1998 13:49:05 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (dwells at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id NAA23588 for ; Fri, 1 May 1998 13:49:02 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from dwells at localhost) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) id NAA13571 for fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu; Fri, 1 May 1998 13:48:59 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id NAA23577 for ; Fri, 1 May 1998 13:47:49 -0400 (EDT) Received: from palantir.cv.nrao.edu (tismail at palantir.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.254]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) with ESMTP id NAA13561 for ; Fri, 1 May 1998 13:47:47 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from tismail at localhost) by palantir.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) id NAA16927 for ; Fri, 1 May 1998 13:47:46 -0400 Received: from wheelo.gsfc.nasa.gov(128.183.50.20) by palantir.cv.nrao.edu via smap (V1.3) id sma016924; Fri May 1 13:47:31 1998 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 NAA02199 for ; Fri, 1 May 1998 13:47:00 -0400 (EDT) Received: by tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov (SMI-8.6/SMI-SVR4) id NAA05077; Fri, 1 May 1998 13:46:55 -0400 Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 13:46:55 -0400 From: pence at tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov (William Pence) Message-Id: <199805011746.NAA05077 at tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov> To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Subject: Re: Deprecation of Random Groups Cc: pence at tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov X-Sun-Charset: US-ASCII Sender: owner-fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk Putting aside the issue of 'deprecation' for a moment, what would it take for the radio interferometry community to switch from using random groups to using binary tables for future data collection? For example, would it be possible for the major players in this field to form a working group to work out the details for a binary table format and on a time table for implementation (say by 1 Jan 2000, like the Y2000 agreement)? -Bill Pence From owner-fitsbits at kochab.cv.nrao.edu Fri May 1 14:18:00 1998 Received: (from majordom at localhost) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) id OAA24229 for fitsbits-spinner; Fri, 1 May 1998 14:17:58 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (dwells at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id OAA24224 for ; Fri, 1 May 1998 14:17:55 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from dwells at localhost) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) id OAA13629 for fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu; Fri, 1 May 1998 14:17:52 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id OAA24183 for ; Fri, 1 May 1998 14:15:25 -0400 (EDT) Received: from gorilla.cv.nrao.edu (bcotton at gorilla.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.9]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) with ESMTP id OAA13615 for ; Fri, 1 May 1998 14:15:23 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from bcotton at localhost) by gorilla.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) id OAA04988; Fri, 1 May 1998 14:15:20 -0400 (EDT) Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 14:15:20 -0400 (EDT) From: Bill Cotton Message-Id: <199805011815.OAA04988 at gorilla.cv.nrao.edu> To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu CC: bcotton at gorilla.cv.nrao.edu Subject: Re: Deprecation of Random Groups In-Reply-To: <199805011746.NAA05077 at tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov> References: <199805011746.NAA05077 at tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov> Sender: owner-fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk William Pence writes: > Putting aside the issue of 'deprecation' for a moment, what would it > take for the radio interferometry community to switch from using random > groups to using binary tables for future data collection? For > example, would it be possible for the major players in this field to > form a working group to work out the details for a binary table format > and on a time table for implementation (say by 1 Jan 2000, like the > Y2000 agreement)? > This was attempted several years ago and basically failed for reasons that had nothing to do with the merits of the different formats. A binary tables format for radio interferometry was developed and widely circulated for comments. The implementation of this format was only partially complete and is limited to some VLBI correlator outputs. The state of software politics in the radio astronomical community is such that a change of formats is currently completely impossible. From a purely technical point of view there is little to be gained from switching from a Random Groups format to binary tables; the difference is merely the file headers - the actual bit patterns could be unchanged. I'm afraid that we're stuck with the current situation for the forseeable future. -Bill Cotton From owner-fitsbits at kochab.cv.nrao.edu Fri May 1 16:48:30 1998 Received: (from majordom at localhost) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) id QAA27285 for fitsbits-spinner; Fri, 1 May 1998 16:46:45 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (dwells at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id QAA27280 for ; Fri, 1 May 1998 16:46:42 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from dwells at localhost) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) id QAA13891 for fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu; Fri, 1 May 1998 16:46:39 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id QAA27270 for ; Fri, 1 May 1998 16:44:33 -0400 (EDT) Received: from palantir.cv.nrao.edu (tismail at palantir.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.254]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) with ESMTP id QAA13881 for ; Fri, 1 May 1998 16:44:30 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from tismail at localhost) by palantir.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) id QAA00518 for ; Fri, 1 May 1998 16:44:29 -0400 Received: from wheelo.gsfc.nasa.gov(128.183.50.20) by palantir.cv.nrao.edu via smap (V1.3) id sma000515; Fri May 1 16:44:06 1998 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 QAA04465 for ; Fri, 1 May 1998 16:43:32 -0400 (EDT) Received: by tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov (SMI-8.6/SMI-SVR4) id QAA05258; Fri, 1 May 1998 16:43:27 -0400 Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 16:43:27 -0400 From: pence at tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov (William Pence) Message-Id: <199805012043.QAA05258 at tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov> To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Subject: Re: Deprecation of Random Groups Cc: pence at tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov X-Sun-Charset: US-ASCII Sender: owner-fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk Bill Cotton wrote: > From a purely technical point of view there is little to be gained > from switching from a Random Groups format to binary tables; the > difference is merely the file headers - the actual bit patterns could > be unchanged. That's true, and in fact the CFITSIO library (http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/fitsio) internally interpretes random groups as binary tables: each group is a separate row in the virtual table, with the group parameters in column 1 and the data array in column 2 (in general both columns are vectors). While CFITSIO does contain specialized routines for reading and writing group parameters and grouped arrays, these just call the more general CFITSIO routines which read and write data in binary table columns. CFITSIO also treats primary arrays and image extensions as binary tables in the same way, but in these cases the 1st column (containing the group parameters) has a vector repeat count = 0, and there is only one row in the virtual table. So really all FIT HDUs are binary tables as far as CFITSIO is concerned. Thus, it is possible for software that is based on CFITSIO to read and write grouped data as though they were binary tables, even without changing the current format of the files (e.g., to read the 4th group parameter in the 2nd group, call the CFITSIO binary table reading routine to read the 4th pixel element of column 1 in the 2nd row of the virtual binary table). -Bill Pence From owner-fitsbits at kochab.cv.nrao.edu Mon May 4 10:35:20 1998 Received: (from majordom at localhost) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) id KAA21458 for fitsbits-spinner; Mon, 4 May 1998 10:33:16 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (dwells at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id KAA21453 for ; Mon, 4 May 1998 10:33:13 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from dwells at localhost) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) id KAA16409 for fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu; Mon, 4 May 1998 10:33:09 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id XAA13861 for ; Sun, 3 May 1998 23:29:18 -0400 (EDT) Received: from newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu (newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.17]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) with ESMTP id XAA15946 for ; Sun, 3 May 1998 23:29:14 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from news at localhost) by newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) id XAA11464; Sun, 3 May 1998 23:29:13 -0400 To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Date: Mon, 04 May 1998 10:32:47 +0800 From: Gordon Message-ID: <6ij9i9$e58$1 at marri.bs.wa.gov.au> Organization: Bureau Services Path: newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu!newsgate.duke.edu!nntprelay.mathworks.com!news.idt.net!netnews.com!newsfeed.concentric.net!newsfeed.concentric.net!ozemail!marri.bs.wa.gov.au!not-for-mail Reply-To: To at newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu, e-mail at newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu, remove at newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu, astro at newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu, from at newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu, address. at newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu Subject: Viewing DSS Fits Files Newsgroups: sci.astro.fits Sender: owner-fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk The other day I asked about viewers for fits files to help me with a photographic project for my astronomical club. I was given the net address to download FITsview 2.0. The good news is that I now have this program and it works well with the sample images that came with it. However, when I try to view fits files downloaded fromm DSS I get an error message saying that I have performed an illegal function. I have tried on different days downloading DSS images and seeing if they will be accepted by the program. But no luck. If it is of any use my computer has Windows 95 and runs a late version of Netscape. Your help is once again needed. Gordon (What I have seen so far, I think Fitsviewer is a fantastic research tool) From owner-fitsbits at kochab.cv.nrao.edu Mon May 4 10:40:06 1998 Received: (from majordom at localhost) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) id KAA21673 for fitsbits-spinner; Mon, 4 May 1998 10:40:04 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (dwells at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id KAA21668 for ; Mon, 4 May 1998 10:40:01 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from dwells at localhost) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) id KAA16435 for fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu; Mon, 4 May 1998 10:39:57 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id JAA21166 for ; Mon, 4 May 1998 09:26:28 -0400 (EDT) Received: from palantir.cv.nrao.edu (tismail at palantir.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.254]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) with ESMTP id JAA16333 for ; Mon, 4 May 1998 09:26:24 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from tismail at localhost) by palantir.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) id JAA25787 for ; Mon, 4 May 1998 09:26:19 -0400 Received: from isis.u-strasbg.fr(130.79.200.1) by palantir.cv.nrao.edu via smap (V1.3) id sma025781; Mon May 4 09:25:49 1998 Received: from simbad.u-strasbg.fr (simbad.u-strasbg.fr [130.79.128.4]) by isis.u-strasbg.fr (8.6.11/8.6.9) with SMTP id PAA28595 for ; Mon, 4 May 1998 15:18:49 +0200 Received: by simbad.u-strasbg.fr (5.x/SMI-SVR4) id AA03745; Mon, 4 May 1998 15:18:53 +0200 Message-Id: <9805041318.AA03745 at simbad.u-strasbg.fr> To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Cc: francois at simbad.u-strasbg.fr Subject: Revised FITS Date: Mon, 04 May 1998 15:18:53 +0200 From: Francois Ochsenbein Sender: owner-fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk Let me first congratulate the useful job of the Revised FITS Standard NOST! The explicitation of the F77 conventions is especially useful, since I have the impression that this knowledge is fading out... For instance, the explicit conventions of the F77 format in section 8.1.5 is useful, since I've frequently heard colleagues claiming that an interpretation, with a F5.3 format, of the strings " 1230" and " 123 " lead to the same number 1.23 ... and this is not true (the first form gives 1.23, the second 0.123) I've gathered several comments I wish to submit for the final version: Section 5.2 (keyword values) I feel the definitions and usage of the "fixed format" are not quite straightforward to understand: - "fixed format" in reality only concerns integer and logical data, since no mandatory keyword exists for or complex number (and for character data, I see only the XTENSION keyword as mandatory) - The note in section 5.2.4 "The full precision of 64-bit values cannot be expressed as a single value using the fixed format" is not true, since at least all values which can be expressed without the exponential part are fully expressed in 20 bytes; a more correct note would be "The full precision of 64-bit values cannot be expressed over the whole range of values using the fixed format" - I would suggest to add a reminder about the fixed format in section 5.4.1. e.g. "Values expressed by the mandatory keywords must be written in fixed format, i.e. right-aligned in bytes 11-30 for numeric values." Section 5.2.1 (Character String) It is not explicitely stated that an empty string is allowed, normally made of two consecutive quotes anywhere between columns 11 and 80. Or should the empty string be written as only spaces (i.e. no quote at all)? I think Steve Allen is wrong in his example AKEYWORD= '' / isn't this funny? 'concatenated'' ''comments' AKEYWORD is without doubt an empty string, a single apostrophe is written AKEYWORD= '''' / This is a single apostrophe A correct wording could be: "A character string value is expressed as an opening quote, followed by the contents of the string made of ascii text, followed by a closing quote; the quotes within the string are doubled, e.g. O'HARA = 'O''HARA', or a single apostrophe is written ''''" Section 5.3 (Units) As was already expressed by Cleve Page, I feel it is a very bad statement to require the usage of degrees for celestial coordinates. If this can be understood for main header keywords (e.g. related to WCS), there are dedicated TUNITx keywords to specify the units used in columns of a table -- would then a specification of anything different from "deg" in a TUNITx keyword describing a column of a table containing celestial coordinates be illegal ??? Section 5.4.2.2 (OBJECT) I would like to support Don's recommendation about the usage of the OBJECT keyword: it has been so frustrating in the past not to be able to use the contents of this keyword to generate meaningful lists of observed targets simply because the writing software imposed a limit (16 bytes in the applications I've used) on the size of strings... Couldn't such a recommendation of at least 32 bytes (or 36) be added for this specific keyword ? XTENSION values (sections 8.1, 8.2) The value field includes a trailing blank for 'TABLE ' and 'IMAGE ' . Is this blank required ? The minimum size of 8 bytes having been removed, this trailing blank looks now spurious, and is not required according to section 5.2.1 TTYPEn values (Sections 8.1.2, 8.3.2) I can't see any valuable reason why .. "string comparisons with the values of TTYPEn keywords should not be case sensitive". Is it because it is wished that the contents of TTYPEn can be used as a Fortran variable ? There are so many astronomical parameters for which the case is really meaningfull (think e.g. of phometric indexes of UBV system versus uvby ...) Now about ASCII tables which are used here a lot (about 5,000 tables exist at CDS which can be automatically transformed into FITS ASCII tables, either with the "tofits" program, or by simply adding the ".fit" suffix to the file names in our FTP server). Why not binary tables ? The basic problem is that data distributed from CDS and other astronomical data centers correspond to VALIDATED data, i.e. data which are frequently printed in refereed journals. We must therefore enforce that the values contained in the FITS columns are identical to the published ones -- but in the binary table the display format (TDISPx) isn't even required ! Moreover, the display in sexagesimal format is not yet accessible, and furthermore the binary tables can't make a difference between "12.1" and "12.10" unless a special column giving e.g. the number of significant decimals is provided. FITS is used here to allow an easy interpratation of the tabulated data, but we also have to take care of not altering the data, which unfortunately can't be done with the binary table format... I therefore stronly object the proposed "deprecation" of ascii FITS tables ! Just a last short comment: looking in the index about what's an "indexed keyword", it turned out that "indexed, keyword" lists pages 15,19,69, while "keyword, indexed" lists pages 9,15,69. I can't see anything about the subject on page 19... Or is there any subtle difference I missed between "indexed, keyword" or "keyword, indexed" ? Again, thanks for those who took care of rewriting this fundamental document ! ================================================================================ Francois Ochsenbein ------ Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg 11, rue de l'Universite F-67000 STRASBOURG Phone: +33-(0)3 88 150 755 Email: francois at simbad.u-strasbg.fr (France) Fax: +33-(0)3 88 150 740 ================================================================================ From owner-fitsbits at kochab.cv.nrao.edu Mon May 4 10:40:59 1998 Received: (from majordom at localhost) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) id KAA21690 for fitsbits-spinner; Mon, 4 May 1998 10:40:57 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (dwells at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id KAA21685 for ; Mon, 4 May 1998 10:40:54 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from dwells at localhost) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) id KAA16440 for fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu; Mon, 4 May 1998 10:40:52 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id KAA21306 for ; Mon, 4 May 1998 10:09:49 -0400 (EDT) Received: from newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu (newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.17]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) with ESMTP id KAA16378 for ; Mon, 4 May 1998 10:09:46 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from news at localhost) by newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) id KAA05211; Mon, 4 May 1998 10:09:45 -0400 To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Date: 30 Apr 98 23:04:36 GMT From: ajw01 at uow.edu.au (Andrew John Walker) Message-ID: Organization: University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia. Path: newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu!newsgate.duke.edu!nntprelay.mathworks.com!sunqbc.risq.qc.ca!news.uow.edu.au!ajw01 References: <6i8iaj$ljn$1 at marri.bs.wa.gov.au> Subject: Re: Viewing fits files Newsgroups: sci.astro.fits Sender: owner-fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk Gordon writes: >I am putting togther an photography project for my astronomical >society. I got hold of some graphic inages of objects of interest from >the Digitial Sky Survey site but I cannot not find a viewer. I would >like to view the fits images believing them to be more detailed than the >images in the gif format. Is there anywhere on the net I get get a >simple fits viewer. >Any advice would be appreciated. >Gordon If you're using a PC check out Fitsview at http://www.cv.nrao.edu/~bcotton/fitsview.html Andrew -- * Andrew Walker * * Department Of Physics * e-mail -- ajw01 at uow.edu.au * Wollongong University * * Australia * From owner-fitsbits at kochab.cv.nrao.edu Mon May 4 18:10:10 1998 Received: (from majordom at localhost) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) id SAA07155 for fitsbits-spinner; Mon, 4 May 1998 18:10:04 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (dwells at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id SAA07150 for ; Mon, 4 May 1998 18:10:01 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from dwells at localhost) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) id SAA16874 for fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu; Mon, 4 May 1998 18:09:58 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id RAA01162 for ; Mon, 4 May 1998 17:13:50 -0400 (EDT) Received: from newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu (newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.17]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) with ESMTP id RAA16816 for ; Mon, 4 May 1998 17:13:46 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from news at localhost) by newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) id RAA25922; Mon, 4 May 1998 17:13:45 -0400 To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Date: 4 May 1998 14:13:33 -0700 From: sla at ucolick.borg (Steve Allen) Message-ID: <6ilb1t$96j$1 at dei.ucolick.org> Organization: UCO/Lick Observatory Path: newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu!newsgate.duke.edu!nntprelay.mathworks.com!howland.erols.net!feed2.news.erols.com!erols!news1.best.com!157.22.1.2.MISMATCH!news.zocalo.net!news.ucsc.edu!not-for-mail References: <199804151424.KAA17054 at nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov> <199804171526.LAA06339 at fits.cv.nrao.edu> Subject: Re: OBJECT names (was Re: Draft of FITS standard revision 1.2..) Newsgroups: sci.astro.fits Sender: owner-fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk In article <199804171526.LAA06339 at fits.cv.nrao.edu>, Don Wells wrote: >The text should also recommend that data systems which originate >OBJECT strings (e.g., telescope/instrument data systems) encourage >observers to use strings which conform to the recommendations of the >Designations Task Group of IAU Commission 5 (Astronomical Data). The >text should cite "IAU Recommendations for Nomenclature" >. Our data systems have always provided for the maximum possible FITS string length as the value for the object card. Unfortunately, this opens the door for other forms of abuse. It is extremely commonplace for observers to set the string to something like OBJECT = 'NGC 1234, 400 s, blue filter, 1200 line grating' This is done even though there may be other FITS keywords which contain the appended values. Indeed, there's movement to create a next-generation interface for Keck and Lick which will actually permit the observer to specify a set of keywords whose values are to be appended into the OBJECT string. Before we actually do this, I'd appreciate external commentary from the FITS community on the (lack of) merits of abusing the OBJECT keyword in this way. -- Steve Allen UCO/Lick Observatory Santa Cruz, CA 95064 sla at ucolick.borg Voice: +1 408 459 3046 FAX (don't): +1 408 454 9863 WWW: http://www.ucolick.borg/~sla PGP public keys: see WWW Junk mail is irrelevant -- my return address has been assimilated. From owner-fitsbits at kochab.cv.nrao.edu Tue May 5 10:05:47 1998 Received: (from majordom at localhost) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) id KAA16297 for fitsbits-spinner; Tue, 5 May 1998 10:05:00 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (dwells at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id KAA16292 for ; Tue, 5 May 1998 10:04:57 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from dwells at localhost) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) id KAA17755 for fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu; Tue, 5 May 1998 10:04:53 -0400 (EDT) Received: from cv3.cv.nrao.edu (root at cv3.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.2]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id TAA08850 for ; Mon, 4 May 1998 19:55:26 -0400 (EDT) Received: from gorilla.cv.nrao.edu (bcotton at gorilla.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.9]) by cv3.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.7) with ESMTP id TAA26146 for ; Mon, 4 May 1998 19:55:24 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from bcotton at localhost) by gorilla.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) id TAA07375; Mon, 4 May 1998 19:55:23 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 4 May 1998 19:55:23 -0400 (EDT) From: Bill Cotton Message-Id: <199805042355.TAA07375 at gorilla.cv.nrao.edu> To: fitsbits at nrao.edu Subject: Re: Viewing DSS Fits Files Newsgroups: sci.astro.fits In-Reply-To: <6ij9i9$e58$1 at marri.bs.wa.gov.au> References: <6ij9i9$e58$1 at marri.bs.wa.gov.au> Sender: owner-fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk dgb at doplar.wa.astro.gov.au writes: > The other day I asked about viewers for fits files to help me with a > photographic project for my astronomical club. I was given the net > address to download FITsview 2.0. > > The good news is that I now have this program and it works well with the > sample images that came with it. However, when I try to view fits files > downloaded fromm DSS I get an error message saying that I have performed > an illegal function. I have tried on different days downloading DSS > images and seeing if they will be accepted by the program. But no > luck. If it is of any use my computer has Windows 95 and runs a late > version of Netscape. > > Your help is once again needed. > > Gordon > > (What I have seen so far, I think Fitsviewer is a fantastic research > tool) > > Gordon, Could you be a bit more specific about your source of dss images. I can't reproduce your problem using images from the stsci server. Also, could you please use an E-Mail account with a proper host name? When I try to send you a message directly it bounces complaining of "Unknown host". -Bill Cotton From owner-fitsbits at kochab.cv.nrao.edu Tue May 5 10:05:58 1998 Received: (from majordom at localhost) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) id KAA16310 for fitsbits-spinner; Tue, 5 May 1998 10:05:55 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (dwells at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id KAA16305 for ; Tue, 5 May 1998 10:05:52 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from dwells at localhost) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) id KAA17763 for fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu; Tue, 5 May 1998 10:05:50 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id AAA10271 for ; Tue, 5 May 1998 00:51:22 -0400 (EDT) Received: from palantir.cv.nrao.edu (tismail at palantir.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.254]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) with ESMTP id AAA17175 for ; Tue, 5 May 1998 00:51:19 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from tismail at localhost) by palantir.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) id AAA23882 for ; Tue, 5 May 1998 00:51:17 -0400 Received: from homer.stx.com(207.239.152.215) by palantir.cv.nrao.edu via smap (V1.3) id sma023873; Tue May 5 00:50:54 1998 Received: (from kuin at localhost) by homer.stx.com (950413.SGI.8.6.12/950213.SGI.AUTOCF) id AAA20961; Tue, 5 May 1998 00:45:44 -0400 From: kuin at homer.stx.com (Nicolaas Kuin) Message-Id: <199805050445.AAA20961 at homer.stx.com> Subject: Re: OBJECT names To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Date: Tue, 5 May 1998 00:45:44 -0400 (EDT) Cc: kuin at homer.stx.com X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.4 PL24 ME5a] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk I believe that creative use of the OBJECT keyword as discussed here should not have an impact on the OBJECT designation, which should follow the IAU designation recommendations. The advantages of using consistent designations are large. Adding other information in the keyword field makes the whole meaning of KEYWORD=VALUE weak and sloppy and meaningless. There is no reason that Keck and Lick could not introduce their own LICK_OBJ for a string like LICK_OBJ = 'NGC 1234, 400 s, blue filter, 1200 line grating' which then could be put into the header. I would strongly suggest to have some software go over this string which would make an intelligent guess for other FITS keywords (like OBJECT, FILTER, GRATING, etc.) and ask the observer to approve the insertion into the FITS header of the automatically generated FITS keywords. It seems to me that software's function is to make life easier in this way. Paul Kuin Steve Allen wrote |In article <199804171526.LAA06339 at fits.cv.nrao.edu>, |Don Wells wrote: |>The text should also recommend that data systems which originate |>OBJECT strings (e.g., telescope/instrument data systems) encourage |>observers to use strings which conform to the recommendations of the |>Designations Task Group of IAU Commission 5 (Astronomical Data). The |>text should cite "IAU Recommendations for Nomenclature" |>. | |Our data systems have always provided for the maximum possible FITS |string length as the value for the object card. Unfortunately, this |opens the door for other forms of abuse. | |It is extremely commonplace for observers to set the string to something like |OBJECT = 'NGC 1234, 400 s, blue filter, 1200 line grating' |This is done even though there may be other FITS keywords which contain |the appended values. | |Indeed, there's movement to create a next-generation interface for |Keck and Lick which will actually permit the observer to specify a set |of keywords whose values are to be appended into the OBJECT string. | |Before we actually do this, I'd appreciate external commentary from |the FITS community on the (lack of) merits of abusing the OBJECT |keyword in this way. |--------------------------------------------------------------- Paul Kuin, Raytheon STX Corporation, 4400 Forbes Blvd., Lanham, MD 20706, USA (301) 794-5195 --------------------------------------------------------------- From owner-fitsbits at kochab.cv.nrao.edu Tue May 5 14:21:26 1998 Received: (from majordom at localhost) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) id OAA20706 for fitsbits-spinner; Tue, 5 May 1998 14:20:35 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (dwells at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id OAA20699 for ; Tue, 5 May 1998 14:20:31 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from dwells at localhost) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) id OAA18883 for fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu; Tue, 5 May 1998 14:20:28 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id NAA18887 for ; Tue, 5 May 1998 13:24:19 -0400 (EDT) Received: from palantir.cv.nrao.edu (tismail at palantir.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.254]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) with ESMTP id NAA18816 for ; Tue, 5 May 1998 13:24:16 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from tismail at localhost) by palantir.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) id NAA25650 for ; Tue, 5 May 1998 13:24:15 -0400 Received: from wheelo.gsfc.nasa.gov(128.183.50.20) by palantir.cv.nrao.edu via smap (V1.3) id sma025647; Tue May 5 13:24:06 1998 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 NAA00755 for ; Tue, 5 May 1998 13:23:35 -0400 (EDT) Received: by tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov (SMI-8.6/SMI-SVR4) id NAA07675; Tue, 5 May 1998 13:23:34 -0400 Date: Tue, 5 May 1998 13:23:34 -0400 From: pence at tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov (William Pence) Message-Id: <199805051723.NAA07675 at tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov> To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Subject: Re: OBJECT names Cc: pence at tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov X-Sun-Charset: US-ASCII Sender: owner-fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk Don Wells wrote on 17 April: > I recommend that some additional text be appended to the single > sentence associated with the 'OBJECT Keyword' entry on page 23 in > Section 5.4.2.2 (Keywords Describing Observations). > > This text should recommend that new software implementations which > read and write FITS files should support OBJECT strings with lengths > of at least 26 characters, and preferably 32 (maybe 36?) characters. Would there be any objections to recommending that software support strings up to the maximum 68 character length? Why introduce an arbitrary shorter limit? In fact, instead of just adding a recommendation for only the OBJECT keyword, a more general way to handle this would be to add a couple sentences to the end of section 5.2.1 (which defines character string keywords) which says something to the effect: "The maximum allowed length of a keyword string is 68 characters (with the opening and closing quote characters in columns 11 and 80, respectively). Software which reads or writes any character string keyword should support strings up to this maximum length." -Bill Pence From owner-fitsbits at kochab.cv.nrao.edu Tue May 5 14:22:01 1998 Received: (from majordom at localhost) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) id OAA21169 for fitsbits-spinner; Tue, 5 May 1998 14:21:59 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (dwells at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id OAA21163 for ; Tue, 5 May 1998 14:21:55 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from dwells at localhost) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) id OAA18890 for fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu; Tue, 5 May 1998 14:21:52 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id NAA18970 for ; Tue, 5 May 1998 13:53:39 -0400 (EDT) Received: from palantir.cv.nrao.edu (tismail at palantir.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.254]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) with ESMTP id NAA18846 for ; Tue, 5 May 1998 13:53:37 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from tismail at localhost) by palantir.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) id NAA30677 for ; Tue, 5 May 1998 13:53:35 -0400 Received: from cfa.harvard.edu(131.142.10.1) by palantir.cv.nrao.edu via smap (V1.3) id sma030640; Tue May 5 13:53:22 1998 Received: from cfa183.harvard.edu (cfa183.harvard.edu [131.142.12.59]) by cfa.harvard.edu (8.8.5/8.7.3) with SMTP id NAA06503; Tue, 5 May 1998 13:50:37 -0400 (EDT) Received: by cfa183.harvard.edu (SMI-8.6/SMI-SVR4) id NAA26059; Tue, 5 May 1998 13:50:42 -0400 Date: Tue, 5 May 1998 13:50:42 -0400 From: willner at cfa183.harvard.edu (Steve Willner) Message-Id: <199805051750.NAA26059 at cfa183.harvard.edu> To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Subject: long object names Cc: lanie at astro.uiuc.edu, dwells at nrao.edu X-Sun-Charset: US-ASCII Sender: owner-fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk I'm not a reader of this list, but I hope you won't mind my posting in favor of somehow making long object names part of the FITS standard. This could be done either by modifying the OBJECT keyword or by inventing a new keyword, but I think either would be a valuable addition to the FITS standard. My interest in the subject comes from my own research (using FITS files of infrared images) and from my role as a Scientific Editor of the ApJ. Sometimes I have to struggle with authors to make them use proper object names, and anything that will make it easier to do that must be a good thing. Having correct names in the data files from the beginning should be a help. Relatively short names are probably enough for most "at the telescope" use, but FITS is more and more being used for data archives. In these, it is important to know exactly which object the data are for, and as Don Wells has pointed out, that can take a lot more than eight characters. Even for temporary archiving of raw telescope data, an eight character field is a bit small now that we have multi-object spectrographs. Observers might well wish to label each spectrum with the cluster name and object name within the cluster, and eight characters may not be adequate. If a change is made, I'd suggest allowing as many characters as are technically feasible on a single 80-column "card" without encroaching on other dedicated columns. Once we have more than eight characters, I doubt it makes much difference in reader programs how many characters there are, and going to the maximum now will avoid having to make changes later. Also, be sure to allow the necessary special characters: colons and parentheses at least and preferably slashes and equal signs as well. As I say, I'm not a regular reader, so please cc me on any responses you want me to see. From owner-fitsbits at kochab.cv.nrao.edu Tue May 5 18:36:01 1998 Received: (from majordom at localhost) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) id SAA23914 for fitsbits-spinner; Tue, 5 May 1998 18:35:41 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (dwells at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id SAA23909 for ; Tue, 5 May 1998 18:35:38 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from dwells at localhost) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) id SAA19647 for fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu; Tue, 5 May 1998 18:35:35 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id SAA23878 for ; Tue, 5 May 1998 18:09:58 -0400 (EDT) Received: from palantir.cv.nrao.edu (tismail at palantir.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.254]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) with ESMTP id SAA19583 for ; Tue, 5 May 1998 18:09:55 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from tismail at localhost) by palantir.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) id SAA07127 for ; Tue, 5 May 1998 18:09:54 -0400 Received: from wheelo.gsfc.nasa.gov(128.183.50.20) by palantir.cv.nrao.edu via smap (V1.3) id sma007124; Tue May 5 18:09:37 1998 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 SAA04518 for ; Tue, 5 May 1998 18:08:37 -0400 (EDT) Received: by tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov (SMI-8.6/SMI-SVR4) id SAA08061; Tue, 5 May 1998 18:08:37 -0400 Date: Tue, 5 May 1998 18:08:37 -0400 From: pence at tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov (William Pence) Message-Id: <199805052208.SAA08061 at tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov> To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Subject: Re: OBJECT names X-Sun-Charset: US-ASCII Sender: owner-fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk Nicolaas Kuin wrote: > There is no reason that Keck and Lick could not introduce their own > LICK_OBJ for a string like > LICK_OBJ = 'NGC 1234, 400 s, blue filter, 1200 line grating' > which then could be put into the header. I'd agree that it would be better to invent a new keyword to record the user's observation title, (OBSTITLE?) and reserve OBJECT for its intended purpose, which is to give the name of the object observed and nothing more. -Bill Pence From owner-fitsbits at kochab.cv.nrao.edu Wed May 6 09:25:08 1998 Received: (from majordom at localhost) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) id JAA01073 for fitsbits-spinner; Wed, 6 May 1998 09:24:09 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (dwells at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id JAA01068 for ; Wed, 6 May 1998 09:24:06 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from dwells at localhost) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) id JAA20537 for fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu; Wed, 6 May 1998 09:24:00 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id XAA24103 for ; Tue, 5 May 1998 23:29:20 -0400 (EDT) Received: from newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu (newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.17]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) with ESMTP id XAA20028 for ; Tue, 5 May 1998 23:29:17 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from news at localhost) by newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) id XAA12327; Tue, 5 May 1998 23:29:16 -0400 To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Date: Wed, 06 May 1998 10:49:26 +0800 From: Gordon Message-ID: <6ioj9k$kk9$1 at marri.bs.wa.gov.au> Organization: Bureau Services Path: newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu!newsgate.duke.edu!nntprelay.mathworks.com!logbridge.uoregon.edu!su-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!newsfeed.concentric.net!ozemail!marri.bs.wa.gov.au!not-for-mail References: <6ij9i9$e58$1 at marri.bs.wa.gov.au> <199805042355.TAA07375 at gorilla.cv.nrao.edu> Reply-To: To at newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu, e-mail at newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu, remove at newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu, astro at newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu, from at newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu, address. at newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu Subject: Re: Viewing DSS Fits Files Newsgroups: sci.astro.fits Sender: owner-fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk Bill Cotton wrote: > Gordon, > Could you be a bit more specific about your source of dss images. > I can't reproduce your problem using images from the stsci server. > Also, could you please use an E-Mail account with a proper host name? > When I try to send you a message directly it bounces complaining of > "Unknown host". > > -Bill Cotton Bill thanks for your interest. I down load my DSS images from the Skyview site (skyview.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/skybasic.pl). As to my e-mail address I have added "astro" to my address to foil spammers. I will rectify this situation in future postings. My e-mail address is dgb at doplar.wa.gov.au. Cheers Gordon From owner-fitsbits at kochab.cv.nrao.edu Wed May 6 10:46:47 1998 Received: (from majordom at localhost) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) id KAA01230 for fitsbits-spinner; Wed, 6 May 1998 10:46:29 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (dwells at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id KAA01223 for ; Wed, 6 May 1998 10:46:25 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from dwells at localhost) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) id KAA20835 for fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu; Wed, 6 May 1998 10:46:22 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id KAA01181 for ; Wed, 6 May 1998 10:38:26 -0400 (EDT) Received: from palantir.cv.nrao.edu (tismail at palantir.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.254]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) with ESMTP id KAA20814 for ; Wed, 6 May 1998 10:38:23 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from tismail at localhost) by palantir.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) id KAA18613 for ; Wed, 6 May 1998 10:38:21 -0400 Received: from silk.gsfc.nasa.gov(128.183.127.210) by palantir.cv.nrao.edu via smap (V1.3) id sma018606; Wed May 6 10:37:53 1998 Received: by silk.gsfc.nasa.gov id AA19868; Wed, 6 May 1998 10:35:25 -0400 Message-Id: <3550752D.398 at silk.gsfc.nasa.gov> Date: Wed, 06 May 1998 10:35:25 -0400 From: Tom McGlynn X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.01 (X11; I; OSF1 V4.0 alpha) Mime-Version: 1.0 To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu, dgb at doplar.wa.gov.au Subject: Re: Viewing DSS Fits Files References: <6ij9i9$e58$1 at marri.bs.wa.gov.au> <199805042355.TAA07375 at gorilla.cv.nrao.edu> <6ioj9k$kk9$1 at marri.bs.wa.gov.au> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk Since Gordon mentioned that he got his images from SkyView (presumably http://skyview.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/skvbasic.pl i.e., skvbasic not skybasic) I downloaded FITSview to my Windows/NT machine to check things out. I had no difficulty reading either the uncompressed or compressed images from SkyView into FITSview. FITSview did seem to be a very nice and powerful tool for displaying FITS image data and I anticipate that I will be using it now that I've downloaded it onto my PC. Tom McGlynn SkyView PI Gordon wrote: > > Bill Cotton wrote: > > > Gordon, > > Could you be a bit more specific about your source of dss images. > > I can't reproduce your problem using images from the stsci server. > > Also, could you please use an E-Mail account with a proper host name? > > When I try to send you a message directly it bounces complaining of > > "Unknown host". > > > > -Bill Cotton > > Bill thanks for your interest. I down load my DSS images from the > Skyview site (skyview.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/skybasic.pl). As to my > e-mail address I have added "astro" to my address to foil spammers. I > will rectify this situation in future postings. > My e-mail address is dgb at doplar.wa.gov.au. > > Cheers > Gordon From owner-fitsbits at kochab.cv.nrao.edu Sun May 10 22:55:32 1998 Received: (from majordom at localhost) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) id WAA20283 for fitsbits-spinner; Sun, 10 May 1998 22:54:34 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (dwells at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id WAA20278 for ; Sun, 10 May 1998 22:54:31 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from dwells at localhost) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) id WAA25638 for fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu; Sun, 10 May 1998 22:54:28 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id TAA20183 for ; Sun, 10 May 1998 19:41:44 -0400 (EDT) Received: from newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu (newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.17]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) with ESMTP id TAA25494 for ; Sun, 10 May 1998 19:41:41 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from news at localhost) by newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) id TAA00909; Sun, 10 May 1998 19:41:40 -0400 To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Date: 10 May 98 23:39:07 GMT From: ajw01 at uow.edu.au (Andrew John Walker) Message-ID: Organization: University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia. Path: newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu!newsgate.duke.edu!nntprelay.mathworks.com!sunqbc.risq.qc.ca!news.uow.edu.au!ajw01 References: <6ij9i9$e58$1 at marri.bs.wa.gov.au> <199805042355.TAA07375 at gorilla.cv.nrao.edu> <6ioj9k$kk9$1 at marri.bs.wa.gov.au> <3550752D.398 at silk.gsfc.nasa.gov> <3553DE46.23AE23CB at astro.umd.edu> Subject: Re: Viewing DSS Fits Files Newsgroups: sci.astro.fits Sender: owner-fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk Peter Teuben writes: >Tom McGlynn wrote: >> >> FITSview did seem to be a very nice and powerful tool >> for displaying FITS image data and I anticipate that I will >> be using it now that I've downloaded it onto my PC. >I must have been doing something very basic wrong. I found FITSview >a bit annoying (on unix, never tried the win* versions): >It's most basic operation, changing the colortable interactively, was done in >another widget using sliders or so. I tried moving the mouse >in the window, with and without pressing down a variety of >keyboard buttons, and nothing appeared to change contrast/colors etc. >Perhaps I'm too spoiled by that and the client-server nature of saoimage >and SAOtng. Are there functional differences between the unix >and win* versions of FITSview. I noted that month after month it >is the top download from the NRAO ftp archive. I must be missing >something (apart from the blue screen of death of course) >Btw, saoimage is also pretty nice with DSS images. Displaying full >WCS info etc. The last time I used Fitsview you had to reload the image for the minimum and maximum pixel range to work. However brightness and contrast should work immediately. -- * Andrew Walker * * Department Of Physics * e-mail -- ajw01 at uow.edu.au * Wollongong University * * Australia * From owner-fitsbits at kochab.cv.nrao.edu Sun May 10 22:55:38 1998 Received: (from majordom at localhost) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) id WAA20296 for fitsbits-spinner; Sun, 10 May 1998 22:55:36 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (dwells at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id WAA20289 for ; Sun, 10 May 1998 22:55:33 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from dwells at localhost) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) id WAA25643 for fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu; Sun, 10 May 1998 22:55:31 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id UAA20203 for ; Sun, 10 May 1998 20:13:54 -0400 (EDT) Received: from newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu (newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.17]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) with ESMTP id UAA25515 for ; Sun, 10 May 1998 20:13:51 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from news at localhost) by newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) id UAA11098; Sun, 10 May 1998 20:13:49 -0400 To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Date: Sat, 09 May 1998 00:40:38 -0400 From: Peter Teuben Message-ID: <3553DE46.23AE23CB at astro.umd.edu> Organization: Astronomy Department - University of Maryland Path: newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu!newsgate.duke.edu!news.ysu.edu!Cabal.CESspool!bofh.vszbr.cz!howland.erols.net!europa.clark.net!209.70.91.68!news.clark.net!not-for-mail References: <6ij9i9$e58$1 at marri.bs.wa.gov.au> <199805042355.TAA07375 at gorilla.cv.nrao.edu> <6ioj9k$kk9$1 at marri.bs.wa.gov.au> <3550752D.398 at silk.gsfc.nasa.gov> Subject: Re: Viewing DSS Fits Files Newsgroups: sci.astro.fits Sender: owner-fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk Tom McGlynn wrote: > > FITSview did seem to be a very nice and powerful tool > for displaying FITS image data and I anticipate that I will > be using it now that I've downloaded it onto my PC. I must have been doing something very basic wrong. I found FITSview a bit annoying (on unix, never tried the win* versions): It's most basic operation, changing the colortable interactively, was done in another widget using sliders or so. I tried moving the mouse in the window, with and without pressing down a variety of keyboard buttons, and nothing appeared to change contrast/colors etc. Perhaps I'm too spoiled by that and the client-server nature of saoimage and SAOtng. Are there functional differences between the unix and win* versions of FITSview. I noted that month after month it is the top download from the NRAO ftp archive. I must be missing something (apart from the blue screen of death of course) Btw, saoimage is also pretty nice with DSS images. Displaying full WCS info etc. - peter From owner-fitsbits at kochab.cv.nrao.edu Mon May 11 09:13:16 1998 Received: (from majordom at localhost) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) id JAA24018 for fitsbits-spinner; Mon, 11 May 1998 09:12:57 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (dwells at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id JAA24013 for ; Mon, 11 May 1998 09:12:54 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from dwells at localhost) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) id JAA26229 for fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu; Mon, 11 May 1998 09:12:51 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id IAA23830 for ; Mon, 11 May 1998 08:36:21 -0400 (EDT) Received: from gorilla.cv.nrao.edu (bcotton at gorilla.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.9]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) with ESMTP id IAA26200 for ; Mon, 11 May 1998 08:36:18 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from bcotton at localhost) by gorilla.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) id IAA22936; Mon, 11 May 1998 08:36:17 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 11 May 1998 08:36:17 -0400 (EDT) From: Bill Cotton Message-Id: <199805111236.IAA22936 at gorilla.cv.nrao.edu> To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Subject: Re: Viewing DSS Fits Files In-Reply-To: References: <6ij9i9$e58$1 at marri.bs.wa.gov.au> <199805042355.TAA07375 at gorilla.cv.nrao.edu> <6ioj9k$kk9$1 at marri.bs.wa.gov.au> <3550752D.398 at silk.gsfc.nasa.gov> <3553DE46.23AE23CB at astro.umd.edu> Sender: owner-fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk Andrew John Walker writes: > Peter Teuben writes: > > >Tom McGlynn wrote: > >> > >> FITSview did seem to be a very nice and powerful tool > >> for displaying FITS image data and I anticipate that I will > >> be using it now that I've downloaded it onto my PC. > > >I must have been doing something very basic wrong. I found FITSview > >a bit annoying (on unix, never tried the win* versions): > >It's most basic operation, changing the colortable interactively, was done in > >another widget using sliders or so. I tried moving the mouse > >in the window, with and without pressing down a variety of > >keyboard buttons, and nothing appeared to change contrast/colors etc. > >Perhaps I'm too spoiled by that and the client-server nature of saoimage > >and SAOtng. Are there functional differences between the unix > >and win* versions of FITSview. I noted that month after month it > >is the top download from the NRAO ftp archive. I must be missing > >something (apart from the blue screen of death of course) > > >Btw, saoimage is also pretty nice with DSS images. Displaying full > >WCS info etc. > > The last time I used Fitsview you had to reload the image for > the minimum and maximum pixel range to work. However brightness and contrast > should work immediately. > -- Let me point out that the FITSview family is primarily targeted at the general public for which the major consideration is simplicity and obvious controls - obscure keyboard controls of things like brightness and contrast are explicitly avoided. Sliders are obvious - keys are not in the postliterate era. FITSview is not intended as a competitor to SAOimage. I hope that the FITSview family is useful to professional astronomers but they are not its primary market. The general public supports us through their taxes and the very least we can do is share our pretty pictures with them. FITSview is aimed at people who want to go beyond the gif or jpeg renditions of images from which most the astronomy has been removed. We've made the sky accessable on the internet but we also have to provide the tools so that people can take advantage of this. The most recent version of all of the FITSviewers, by default, looks at the image to decide the appropriate range of pixel values to display based on the sky and noise levels. It doesn't always get it right but this really cuts down on the reloads. All of the FITSviewers understand DSS and IRAF CD-matrix coordinates as well as WCS and will give a WCS display of the coordinates. The differences among the Windows, Unix and Apple versions are relatively minor. The Windows version has a print button, the others do not; the Windows version has a toolbar, the others do not and, of course, the Windows help system is vastly superior to anything (including html) on its competitors. However, the real reason that the Windows version of FITSview dominates the ftp fetches is that Windows dominates the computing world; most computer users have never even heard of Unix. -Bill Cotton From owner-fitsbits at kochab.cv.nrao.edu Mon May 11 12:23:03 1998 Received: (from majordom at localhost) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) id MAA25320 for fitsbits-spinner; Mon, 11 May 1998 12:22:48 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (dwells at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id MAA25315 for ; Mon, 11 May 1998 12:22:45 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from dwells at localhost) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) id MAA26488 for fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu; Mon, 11 May 1998 12:22:42 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id LAA25266 for ; Mon, 11 May 1998 11:51:40 -0400 (EDT) Received: from palantir.cv.nrao.edu (tismail at palantir.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.254]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) with ESMTP id LAA26430 for ; Mon, 11 May 1998 11:51:36 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from tismail at localhost) by palantir.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) id LAA01887 for ; Mon, 11 May 1998 11:51:35 -0400 Received: from wheelo.gsfc.nasa.gov(128.183.50.20) by palantir.cv.nrao.edu via smap (V1.3) id sma001883; Mon May 11 11:51:21 1998 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 LAA20849 for ; Mon, 11 May 1998 11:50:50 -0400 (EDT) Received: from tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov by tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov (SMI-8.6/SMI-SVR4) id LAA13133; Mon, 11 May 1998 11:50:44 -0400 Message-ID: <35571E54.A54338EC at tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov> Date: Mon, 11 May 1998 11:50:44 -0400 From: William Pence Organization: HEASARC X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.05 [en] (X11; I; SunOS 5.5.1 sun4u) MIME-Version: 1.0 To: FITSBITS , pence at tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov Subject: Fv 2.3 Release Announcement Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk Fv 2.3 Release Announcement 11 May 1998 Version 2.3 of fv, a program for viewing and editing any FITS format data file is now available. Fv provides a graphical user interface for editing FITS header keywords and for viewing or editing the data in FITS images and tables. 2D images and line plots of the values in table columns can be displayed. A more detailed description of the many new features in this release as well as example images of many of the fv windows are available on the fv Web page. Fv currently runs on most Unix platforms. We hope to provide versions for the Windows NT/95 and Mac operating systems later this year. Instructions for installing fv may be obtained from the Web site at: http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/ftools/fv.html Fv is also contained in the new v4.1 ftools software release, which is also available from the same site. Questions about fv should be sent to: ftoolshelp at athena.gsfc.nasa.gov. Fv has been developed at the HEASARC (High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. From owner-fitsbits at kochab.cv.nrao.edu Mon May 11 12:23:10 1998 Received: (from majordom at localhost) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) id MAA25333 for fitsbits-spinner; Mon, 11 May 1998 12:23:09 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (dwells at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id MAA25328 for ; Mon, 11 May 1998 12:23:06 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from dwells at localhost) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) id MAA26493 for fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu; Mon, 11 May 1998 12:23:03 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id MAA25292 for ; Mon, 11 May 1998 12:14:46 -0400 (EDT) Received: from palantir.cv.nrao.edu (tismail at palantir.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.254]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) with ESMTP id MAA26468 for ; Mon, 11 May 1998 12:14:43 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from tismail at localhost) by palantir.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) id MAA02398 for ; Mon, 11 May 1998 12:14:41 -0400 Received: from wheelo.gsfc.nasa.gov(128.183.50.20) by palantir.cv.nrao.edu via smap (V1.3) id sma002395; Mon May 11 12:14:17 1998 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 MAA21165 for ; Mon, 11 May 1998 12:13:47 -0400 (EDT) Received: from tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov by tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov (SMI-8.6/SMI-SVR4) id MAA13159; Mon, 11 May 1998 12:13:45 -0400 Message-ID: <355723B9.922C696D at tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov> Date: Mon, 11 May 1998 12:13:45 -0400 From: William Pence Organization: HEASARC X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.05 [en] (X11; I; SunOS 5.5.1 sun4u) MIME-Version: 1.0 To: FITSBITS , pence at tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov Subject: FTOOLs 4.1 Release Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk FTOOLS Version 4.1 Release 11 May 1998 A new release of the FTOOLS software package is now publicly available. FTOOLS is a package of well over 200 data analysis programs and Perl and Tcl scripts that operate on FITS format data files. Some of these tasks are very general and may be used on any FITS format file while others are specific to various high-energy astrophysics misssions supported by the HEASARC. The FTOOLS software is supported on most current workstations (including the linux operating system on a PC). This software is freely available from the High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (HEASARC) from the FTOOLS Web home page at: http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/ftools Pre-built binary versions of ftools are now available for several platforms. Any questions about FTOOLS should be directed to ftoolshelp at athena.gsfc.nasa.gov. From owner-fitsbits at kochab.cv.nrao.edu Mon May 11 17:47:20 1998 Received: (from majordom at localhost) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) id RAA25938 for fitsbits-spinner; Mon, 11 May 1998 17:47:14 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (dwells at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id RAA25933 for ; Mon, 11 May 1998 17:47:11 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from dwells at localhost) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) id RAA26797 for fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu; Mon, 11 May 1998 17:47:08 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id RAA25884 for ; Mon, 11 May 1998 17:09:33 -0400 (EDT) Received: from palantir.cv.nrao.edu (tismail at palantir.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.254]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) with ESMTP id RAA26760 for ; Mon, 11 May 1998 17:09:30 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from tismail at localhost) by palantir.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) id RAA12118 for ; Mon, 11 May 1998 17:09:29 -0400 Received: from head-cfa.harvard.edu(131.142.41.8) by palantir.cv.nrao.edu via smap (V1.3) id sma012115; Mon May 11 17:09:25 1998 Received: from xebec by head-cfa (SMI-8.6/SMI-SVR4) id RAA18314; Mon, 11 May 1998 17:02:05 -0400 Received: by xebec (SMI-8.6/SMI-SVR4) id RAA07592; Mon, 11 May 1998 17:02:05 -0400 From: arots at xebec.harvard.edu (Arnold Rots) Message-Id: <199805112102.RAA07592 at xebec> Subject: Re: OBJECT names In-Reply-To: <199805052208.SAA08061 at tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov> from William Pence at "May 5, 98 06:08:37 pm" To: pence at tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov (William Pence) Date: Mon, 11 May 1998 17:02:04 -0400 (EDT) Cc: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.4ME+ PL28 (25)] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk I agree that it is absolutely essential that the syntax of OBJECT be regulated to conform to the Committee 5 guidelines - or at least to something the name resolvers can be reasonably expected to handle. For AXAF, we have designated the keyword TITLE to contain the proposal title, but in principle it could be used for any kind of "junky" information, like suggested below, at the discretion of the project that generates the FITS files. - Arnold Rots William Pence wrote: > Nicolaas Kuin wrote: > > > There is no reason that Keck and Lick could not introduce their own > > LICK_OBJ for a string like > > LICK_OBJ = 'NGC 1234, 400 s, blue filter, 1200 line grating' > > which then could be put into the header. > > I'd agree that it would be better to invent a new keyword to record the > user's observation title, (OBSTITLE?) and reserve OBJECT for its > intended purpose, which is to give the name of the object observed and > nothing more. > > -Bill Pence > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arnold H. Rots AXAF Science Center Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory tel: +1 617 496 7701 60 Garden Street, MS 81 fax: +1 617 495 7356 Cambridge, MA 02138 arots at head-cfa.harvard.edu USA http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~arots/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From owner-fitsbits at kochab.cv.nrao.edu Tue May 12 23:24:21 1998 Received: (from majordom at localhost) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) id XAA06328 for fitsbits-spinner; Tue, 12 May 1998 23:23:39 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (dwells at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id XAA06323 for ; Tue, 12 May 1998 23:23:35 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from dwells at localhost) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) id XAA28486 for fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu; Tue, 12 May 1998 23:23:33 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id TAA06008 for ; Tue, 12 May 1998 19:21:12 -0400 (EDT) Received: from newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu (newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.17]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) with ESMTP id TAA28300 for ; Tue, 12 May 1998 19:21:08 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from news at localhost) by newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) id TAA25315; Tue, 12 May 1998 19:21:06 -0400 To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Date: Mon, 11 May 1998 12:55:21 +0800 From: Gordon Message-ID: <6j60i1$6vb$1 at marri.bs.wa.gov.au> Organization: Bureau Services Path: newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu!newsgate.duke.edu!nntprelay.mathworks.com!newsfeed.direct.ca!news-peer-west.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!newsfeed.concentric.net!ozemail!marri.bs.wa.gov.au!not-for-mail Reply-To: To at newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu, e-mail at newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu, remove at newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu, astro at newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu, from at newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu, address. at newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu Subject: Viewing Fits Files: Bill and Tom Newsgroups: sci.astro.fits Sender: owner-fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk Success at last. Bill and Tom thanks for your help, now I am able to view FITS files downloaded from the Skyview site. Bill, I tried the address you gave me for the exe file but I coudn't get a response so I went to the NRAO Home Page and searched around until I found one. The address of that file is: ftp://ftps.cv.nrao.edu/fits/os-support/ms-windows/fitsview/win16/ In an e-mail, I was told that the data from stdatu.stsci.edu/dss/ has problems with coordinates but image quality was good. How inaccurate are they? Should I use the Skyview site knowing its images are poor in comparison but coordinates OK. I guess it depends on what I want to use the data for. Thanks again guys. Gordon From owner-fitsbits at kochab.cv.nrao.edu Tue May 12 23:24:52 1998 Received: (from majordom at localhost) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) id XAA06343 for fitsbits-spinner; Tue, 12 May 1998 23:24:50 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (dwells at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id XAA06338 for ; Tue, 12 May 1998 23:24:47 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from dwells at localhost) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) id XAA28491 for fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu; Tue, 12 May 1998 23:24:45 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id VAA06261 for ; Tue, 12 May 1998 21:43:38 -0400 (EDT) Received: from newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu (newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.17]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) with ESMTP id VAA28376 for ; Tue, 12 May 1998 21:43:35 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from news at localhost) by newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) id VAA03169; Tue, 12 May 1998 21:43:34 -0400 To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Date: Mon, 11 May 1998 10:19:00 -0400 From: Tom McGlynn Message-ID: <355708D4.1F56 at silk.gsfc.nasa.gov> Organization: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center -- Greenbelt, Maryland USA Path: newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu!newsgate.duke.edu!nntp-out.monmouth.com!newspeer.monmouth.com!newsfeed.nyu.edu!news.columbia.edu!osiris.giss.nasa.gov!newsfeed.gsfc.nasa.gov!usenet References: <6j60i1$6vb$1 at marri.bs.wa.gov.au> Subject: Re: Viewing Fits Files: Bill and Tom Newsgroups: sci.astro.fits Sender: owner-fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk Gordon wrote: > > Success at last. > > Bill and Tom thanks for your help, now I am able to view FITS files > downloaded from the Skyview site. > > Bill, I tried the address you gave me for the exe file but I coudn't get > a response so I went to the NRAO Home Page and searched around until I > found one. The address of that file is: > > ftp://ftps.cv.nrao.edu/fits/os-support/ms-windows/fitsview/win16/ > > In an e-mail, I was told that the data from stdatu.stsci.edu/dss/ has > problems with coordinates but image quality was good. How inaccurate > are they? Should I use the Skyview site knowing its images are poor in > comparison but coordinates OK. I guess it depends on what I want to use > the data for. > > Thanks again guys. > > Gordon The two sites do different things: ST's page gives you the data directly as scanned from the plates -- though the image compression algorithm has been applied. Thus the coordinate system for the image is a fragment of a Schmidt plate and not one of the simple projections that most software understands. SkyView resamples the image into the coordinate system you specify so that it can provide the data in more standard coordinate frames and you can also rescale the image or mosaic different plates. However, the DSS images have 1.7" pixels which is really a bit undersampled, so that when it is resampled by SkyView there can be artifacts from the process (i.e., occasionally an object will be distorted when a pixel is skipped or hit twice in the resampling). This is discussed a bit on the SkyView, What's New page entry from 19 Oct, 1994. You can minimize this by using the linear interpolation resampling, but that will blur things a little bit. This has strayed a ways from FITS. If you're interested in further information about SkyView please let me know. Yours, Tom McGlynn tam at silk.gsfc.nasa.gov From owner-fitsbits at kochab.cv.nrao.edu Fri May 15 18:48:33 1998 Received: (from majordom at localhost) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) id SAA10003 for fitsbits-spinner; Fri, 15 May 1998 18:47:45 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (dwells at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id SAA09998 for ; Fri, 15 May 1998 18:47:42 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from dwells at localhost) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) id SAA02292 for fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu; Fri, 15 May 1998 18:47:39 -0400 (EDT) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (root at fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by kochab.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8/CV-2.2) with ESMTP id RAA09602 for ; Fri, 15 May 1998 17:16:01 -0400 (EDT) Received: from newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu (newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.17]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) with ESMTP id RAA02223 for ; Fri, 15 May 1998 17:15:56 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from news at localhost) by newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) id RAA03599; Fri, 15 May 1998 17:15:55 -0400 To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 16:47:51 -0400 From: Doug Mink Message-ID: <355CA9F6.1FAFE245 at cfa.harvard.edu> Organization: Harvard University University Information Systems Path: newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu!newsgate.duke.edu!nntprelay.mathworks.com!news-peer.gip.net!news.gsl.net!gip.net!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!news.mindspring.net!news.airnews.net!cabal10.airnews.net!news-feeder.onramp.net!rice!oitnews.harvard.edu!cfanews.harvard.edu!131.142.10.153 Subject: WCSTools 2.2 and SAOimage 1.22 available Newsgroups: sci.astro.fits Sender: owner-fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk The WCSTools are portable C utility programs and subroutines for setting and using the world coordinate system (WCS) of a FITS or IRAF image. They implement all of the proposed FITS WCS projections as well as that of the Digitized Sky Survey and a trial version of a polynomial plate fit for higher astrometric accuracy. Discussions are ongoing in the FITS WCS community as to exactly how the polynomial should enter into the projection process, but this version seems to work quite well on a variety of data. The WCSTools package includes standalone catalog searching code and a few image utilities, too. It is available at ftp://cfa-ftp.harvard.edu/pub/gsc/WCSTools/wcstools-2.2.tar.gz The new version of SAOimage fixes a number of small bugs and implements all of the WCSTools projections. It is available at ftp://cfa-ftp.harvard.edu/pub/gsc/SAOimage/ Online help is available at http://tdc-www.harvard.edu/software/saoimage.html -Doug Mink (dmink at cfa.harvard.edu)