Common and uncommon goals and software

["Glenn Gombert" <glenngombert@hotmail.com>]

Roger asked a good question:

“Shouldn't there be an effort to generate a generic data reduction pipeline
which everyone runs on the data taken from their camera?  “

Based on my experience with running a Mark III Camera here in Dayton for 
three years (and having a major cooling failure) which caused the data 
collection effort to stop. It is not practical to have a “common” suite of 
data analysis programs for the Mark IV Camera effort. There are at least 
four or five different suites of processing programs that will be used to 
process Mark IV Camera data

(1)	. IRAF…Arne is currently using this and will probably continue to do 
so…(and Chris may well end up using it as well)..
(2).   Michael Richmond will probably use a custom suite of processing 
programs (based on the suite of image processing  programs that he has 
developed over the last several years to process Mark IV data at RIT.
(3) Windows based Mark IV version of the ‘Star’ program…I imagine this is 
what Mike G. will use(an probably Tom as well) based on his Win32 suite of 
Mark III processing programs…
(4) A Linux variant of Mike G’s Star program…I have already developed 
this…and there is a copy on Michael’s TASS CVS archive…. I will probably use 
some sort of “Flat Comp” correction scheme too…to try and achieve 0.02 mag 
photometry from many non-photometric nights that we have here in the 
Midwest. This program needs to be updated with the latest Mark Astrometry 
calculations ..when Mike G. posts the source code that he is currently 
working on…
(5) As Roger has alluded too SPS can do a good job of processing Mark IV 
images as well ..which I am sure some Mark IV camera sites may well end up 
using as well…

Based on the above I see very little ‘common ground’ for a generic suite of 
Mark IV processing programs…give the number of different camera sites. 
running different versions of processing software.

Glenn G.

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