how to access images from major satellites and observatories
                     a nice non-technical intro to common image formats
                     the technical guide to FITS image formats;  also gsfc FITS links

                                            contents
                    1) image processing astronomy software for pc/mac
                    2) remote access telescopes
                    3) astronomy image processing curriculum activities
 
 

image processing astronomy software for pc/mac

software	operating system &  hardware	availability  & cost	image formats supported	audience	e-mail contact
AIP	Windows 95/98/2000/NT	$79.95 (includes Handbook of Astronomical Image Processing and 600 MB archive of CCD images software now in version 2.0 ($99.95 for new users; $59.95 for an upgrade for users who own 1.0)	FITS	"Amateur Astronomers, Professional Astronomers,   College students, Engineering students, High School science teachers,  Astronomy lab teachers"
Astra Image 2.0	Windows  95/98/NT	SE AU$49.95 (US$30) MAX AU$299.95 ($180 US)	FITS, JPEG, BMP, SBIG	amateur astronomers	support @phasespace.com.au
AstroArt	Windows  95/98/NT/2000	$147	FITS (8, 16), TIFF, JPEG and others	amateur astronomers	msbsoftware@tin.it
AVIS	Windows  95/ 98/NT	freeware version of AstroArt software above	FITS (8, 16) and others		msbsoftware@tin.it
ds9	Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP  MacOSX (Darwin)    Linux, LinuxPPC, Solaris, SGI, Alpha OSF1, HP-UX	free new to ds9? check the FAQ	FITS	educators,  astronomers The Chandra X-ray Observatory Education site provides a connection between  DS9 software, Chandra data sets, and analysis tools that can be used to analyze Chandra data.  You can download DS9 for use interactively with Chandra data or for general use with any FITS data from any source.	cxcedu@cfa.harvard.edu
FITSview	Windows  3.1/95/98/NT; Mac; Unix/Linux	free	FITS		bcotton@nrao.edu
fv 4.1	Windows 95/98/NT, Mac, Linux,  SunOS, SunSolaris	free	FITS file editor	astronomers, amateurs	ftoolshelp @athena.gsfc.nasa.gov
Hands-On Universe (HOU)	Windows 95/98/NT; Mac series II  or better	proprietary;  available only with HOU workshop training	FITS (16)	high-school,  middle-school teachers	andrys@uclink.berkeley.edu
iCCD	Mac	free	FITS, TIFF, JPG, PICT, BMP. PDF	amateurs, professionals	terryj@iit.edu
Image J	Mac, LINUX, Windows	free	FITS,	amateurs, professionals
Imagine-32 (no longer available?)	PC 386 33MHz or higher; Math coprocessor  (runs under  DOS only)  Mac	$100 for 1 copy with manual  $10 for additional copies  w/o manual	FITS	educators,  astronomers	sa @imagingsystems.com (Sergio Adame)
IRAF	PC 486 or better running LINUX	free download $50 on CD	FITS	astronomers	iraf@noao.edu
Iris 4.12	Windows 95/98/NT	free?	FITS, PIC, BMP	anyone
JPEG viewer	Windows Macintosh	free	JPEG images only	secondary (and older primary) students
Makali'i (Subaru)	Windows 98/2000 /Me/XP	free, but registration required; restricted to non-commercial, scientific/educational purposes.	FITS	educators, amateur astronomy research
Maxim (DL 3.0)	Windows 95/98/NT4/ME/XP/2000	$299 MaxIm DL $399 MaxIm DL/CCD	FITS, TIFF,  JPG, BMP, and others	"the perfect tool for amateur and professional astronomers using the windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000 platform"	sales @cyanogen.com
MicroObservatory Image 2.0	Macintosh Windows	free	FITS, GIF
MIRA 7	Windows NT4/2000/XP	$249 Mira AP $599 Pro [Mira AP plus the Pro Tools module, Pro Graphics module, and the Image Processing Plug-in Interface.  site licenses available; student prices available	FITS, TIFF, BMP. JPG, and others	AP "Developed expressly for     Students, Educators , Amateur astronomers, Researchers"	sales@axres.com
NIH Image	Mac	freeware	TIFF, PICT, PICS macros available to read FITS	educators  (originally medical imaging)
Quantum Image (release 4.0)	Windows 95/98/NT/ME/2000/XP	$150for Standard $299 for Pro site licenses available	FITS, BMP,  JPEG, TIFF, GIF	"professional researchers in diverse sciences, as well as non-professionals with imaging needs, for example amateur astronomers" not particularly astronomy oriented; astronomy and CCD tools coming in version 4.1	info@quantimage.com
Remote Astronomy Software [combines CCDSoft 5.0 (CCD controller & image processor)  & TheSky (planetarium  program)]	Windows 95/98/NT/ME/2000/or higher	$349 for  CCDSoft $295 for  RAS (discount to  TIE participants) site licenses available	FITS, TIFF, JPEG, BMP, and others	educators,  amateur astronomers	support@bisque.com
ScionImage	Windows v. 4.02 beta 95/98/NT/ME/2000/XP; Mac v. 1.62 OS 7.5 - 9.x	free	TIFF	educators	info@scioncorp.com
Salsa J (derived from ImageJ)		free	FITS	educators, multi-language (8 European)
Sky Image Processor (SIP)	a Java-1.1- compatible web browser  (Netscape 4.06 and higher)	free Java applet that runs over the web	FITS	educators	jsimonetti@vt.edu
SkySight	PC users: need a Pentium or higher processor; Windows 95, 98, or Me; 32 MB of RAM; and 30 MB of disk space. Mac users: need a PCI Power Macintosh computer; Mac OS 8 or higher; 32 MB of RAM; and 30 MB of disk space. Please note: the current version of SkySight will not run under Windows NT, Windows 2000, or Mac OS X.	free However, Macintosh users will need to purchase a parallel-port card in order to communicate with the cameras that SkySight supports. Right now, SkySight supports several parallel-port cards, both PCI (for desktop Macs) and PCMCIA (for PowerBooks). The PCI cards cost $30-$40; the PCMCIA cards cost $130.	FITS, JPG, GIF	astronomy image enthusiasts	info@southernstars.com toll-free (866) 887-7827

 

remote access telescope projects

program	image format	open to image requests?	image archive open?	statement of purpose	e-mail contact
Automated Telescope Facility (ATF) University of Iowa	FITS,  GIF	yes,  registration	yes		rlm @physics.uiowa.edu (Robert Mutel)
Bradford Robotic Telescope	FITS, GIF	yes, registration	yes with registration		john@telescope.org (John Baruch)
Case Western Reserve Univ Robotic Telescope	FITS	yes, registration	yes
Hands-On Universe (HOU)	16-bit  FITS	open to program participants only  (high school, middle school)	yes	click here	asbellcl @olympus.stmarys.ca (Jodi Asbell-Clarke)
Hubble Space Telescope (HST) NASA	GIF, JPEG, TIFF	proposals generally submitted only by professional astronomers	FITS archive	click here	carolc@stsci.edu (Carol Christian)
MicroObservatory Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics	FITS,  GIF	yes, with enrollment	yes	click here	rgould @cfa.harvard.edu (Roy Gould)
Remote Access Astronomy Project (RAAP) UC-Santa Barbara	FITS	yes	yes		raap @rot.physics.ucsb.edu (Tom Fuller, Coordinator)
Telescopes in Education (TIE) Mt. Wilson Observatory		access to program participants  (middle-school to college)	some GIF samples	click here	mcragg@earthlink.net (Mary Cragg)