fitsopen

fitsopen is a software library and command-line tool designed for interacting with Flexible Image Transport System (FITS) files. FITS is a standard data format used in astronomy for storing scientific data, particularly images and tables. fitsopen provides a programmatic interface to read, write, and manipulate FITS data, making it accessible for analysis and processing.

The library is typically implemented in languages like Python, allowing astronomers and researchers to integrate FITS file handling into their custom analysis pipelines. It abstracts away the complexities of the FITS file structure, presenting data in a more user-friendly format. Users can access header keywords, image arrays, and table columns through the library's functions.

Beyond basic reading and writing, fitsopen often supports common FITS operations such as data type conversion, slicing of multi-dimensional arrays, and the creation of new FITS files from scratch. This versatility makes it a valuable tool for various astronomical tasks, including image calibration, source detection, and data visualization. The command-line utility allows for quick inspection and basic manipulation of FITS files without the need for writing custom scripts.