Ed. Note: The Sources of FITS Information is revised from time to time. This version was last updated on January 23, 1996. The current version is available on several newsgroups. Also, check the following URL for information: http://ssdoo.gsfc.nasa.gov/astro/fits/basics_info.html This document was provided with permission from the FITS Support Office, which is sponsored by the Office of Space Science at NASA Headquarters and operated under the guidance of the Astrophysics Data Facility at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. ********************************************************* Archive-name: astronomy/fits/info-sources Last-modified: 1996/01/23 -------- Sources of FITS Information Preface This material on sources of Flexible Image Transport System (FITS) information is posted and updated periodically by the FITS Support Office at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). It discusses where general FITS information, including some answers to frequently asked questions, can be found, and provides sources for detailed information on FITS software and documentation. ------- FITS Support Office The FITS Support Office maintains a library of FITS information accessible from http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/astro.fits/fits_home.html or ftp://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/pub/fits/. The material available includes o "Definition of FITS," a codification of FITS for the NASA/Science Office of Standards and Technology (NOST), available in LaTeX, uncompressed PostScript, compressed PostScript and (usually) ASCII text (The ASCII text version may not be available for a short while after the announcement of a new version.) o "A User's Guide to FITS", published by the FITS Support Office, in LaTex, and compressed and uncompressed PostScript o Revisions to version 1.0 of the "Definition of FITS" covering the specification of units, that were incorporated into version 1.1 (text) o A current list of the extension type (structure) names registered with the International Astronomical Union FITS Working Group (IAUFWG) (text) o Rules for physical blocking on various media adopted by the IAUFWG (text) In the same directory, but accessible directly via http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/astro/fits/basics_info.html is the FITS Basics and Information that used to be regularly posted to sci.astro.fits and sci.data.formats under the heading of FITS Basics and Information. It continues to be revised to reflect current FITS developments. It contains the following material: o An overview of FITS o A list of FITS documents o A list of software packages that support FITS, including FITS-image converters for various platforms o A list of on-line FITS resources o A description of the FITS Support Office The hypertext version provides links to many of the documents, software, and network locations listed. The text version provides information on how to obtain much of this material. There is also a hypertext version of the List of Registered Extensions. Links from the Web page and subdirectories of the ftp directory contain o Software developed by the FITS Support Office. o Error test files, primary HDUs useful for testing the ability of software designed to read FITS files to cope with files that have errors or are non-standard. These files should be downloaded in binary form. Printed copies of the material in the FITS directory can be obtained from the Coordinated Request and User Support Office (CRUSO): (Postal) Coordinated Request and User Support Office Code 633 National Space Science Data Center NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt MD 20771 USA (Electronic mail) request@nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov (Telephone) +1-301-286-6695 8:00 A. M. - 4:30 P.M. U. S. Eastern Time (-0500 from the last Sunday in October through the first Saturday in April; -0400 the remainder of the year) When no one is available, messages can be left on voice mail. (FAX) +1-301-286-1635 ------- National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) A FITS Archive can be found at URL http://fits.cv.nrao.edu/ or at ftp://fits.cv.nrao.edu/fits, located at NRAO. This machine supports a WAIS server named nrao-fits which has an index of all of the FITS-related text files in the archive; the file nrao-fits.src is available at think.com and at ftp://fits.cv.nrao.edu/fits/wais-sources/nrao-fits.src. Some of the more noteworthy materials in this archive are o Drafts of proposed additions to the FITS standard and other drafts that may in the future be formally proposed o Text of any detailed proposals currently being discussed by the FITS committees o A collection of documents on World Coordinate Systems, including the current draft proposal o Conventions specific to particular projects or disciplines o Software packages for display of FITS images on Windows, Macintosh, and Unix/X-Windows o Other code for various environments and Usenet postings about code o Sample data and special test files designed to measure the ability of a FITS reader to handle a wide variety of FITS files o Archives of traffic on FITS-related newsgroups and exploders ------- HEASARC The NASA/Goddard High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (HEASARC) Web server at http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/heasarc/fits.html and the anonymous ftp access through ftp://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/fits_info/ provide FITS material. HEASARC has developed a the FITSIO package of software routines for easily reading and writing FITS files, in FORtRAN with a C interface available, portable to a wide variety of machines. There is also the FTOOLS collection of software tools and the VERIFITS FITS conformance verifier. HEASARC software is available directly through http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/heasarc/tech_res_software.html or ftp://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/fits_info/software/ . The HEASARC server also provides information from the OGIP/HEASARC FITS Working Group, (HFWG) the internal legislative body on FITS-related matters within the Office of Guest Investigator Programs (OGIP) at NASA/GSFC, at http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/heasarc/ofwg/ofwg_intro.html or ftp://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/fits_info/ . The HFWG has developed a number of FITS conventions that are more specific than the requirements of the FITS standards. Proposed conventions are publicized to the FITS community as a whole, with the goal of collaborative development of a set of conventions that will be accepted throughout the community as well as within OGIP/HEASARC. ------- Direct questions about this posting to Barry M. Schlesinger Coordinator, FITS Support Office Electronic mail: fits@nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov Telephone: +1-301-441-4205 The FITS Support Office is operated under the guidance of the NASA/GSFC Astrophysics Data Facility.