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Re: FITS tables
Yes, as Arne says what we are doing here is designing an interface,
not a processing algorithm. This interface will be used to
transport data that has had just the minimum done to it to
take it from an image to a table with rows and columns.
There will be a one to one corespondence between FITS image
and FITS table files. I would really like to see all of the
image file headers simply copied over to the table file.
This way we loose nothing and if the image header list grows
so does the table header list.
If our interface captures data to far along in processing then
the format of our interface will mostly likely imply a
particular processing algorithm. I'd like to keep this
first level "raw star list" as "raw" as we can. What ever
that means I'm not sure.
The _next_ level interface file I think we will want will
contain data that is combined from multiple frames. I would
make this general so it could be frames from the same camera,
or different sites, mutli color or just one. This will take
more thinking to get right. The format needs to be versatile.
For example it could contain a huge summary of a months worth
of data from one site or just a light curve for a single star.
I do think we can come up with a single FITS table spec for this.
I'd be happy to write conversion software to import and export
FITS table to other formats like plain text and Postgresql DBMS.
The neat thing about FITS table is that they are self documenting.
Each column is described in a standardized header. Reader should
be smart enough that they actually read the heard, not just assume
a table format. So our "standard" can evolve without breaking
old programs. As long as they read the headers.
aah@nofs.navy.mil wrote:
>
> Jure, you are correct: I was thinking of the most basic
> raw starlist as the lowest common denominator. Once these
> are created, then anyone who doesn't have a Mark IV site
> could gain access and help in the processing.
--
Chris Albertson home: chris@albertson-home.net
Redondo Beach, California work: calbertson@primeadvantage.com