Fits Manager

          Fits Manager is a software for viewing, creating and editing fits files. The tool currently supports following four features:

     1. Viewing FITS files.

     2. Creating FITS files.

     3. Adding extensions.

     4. Converting FITS files.

     Fits Manager is a web based tool. But, a stand alone version will be available soon.

Description

          FITS (Flexible Image Transport System) is a data format designed to provide a means for convenient exchange of astronomical data between installations whose standard internal formats and hardware differ. A FITS data file is composed of a sequence of Header Data Units (HDUs). The header consists of keyword=value statements, which describe the organization of the data in the HDU and the format of the contents. It may provide additional information, for example, about instrument status or the history of the data. The data follow, structured as the header specifies. The data section of the HDU may contain a digital image, but, except for the first HDU, it doesn't have to. Other possible formats include tables and multidimensional matrices that are not images. An HDU need not contain data. If the first HDU contains data, they must be organized as an array of one or more dimensions; in subsequent HDUs, called extensions, other organizations are possible, consistent with certain rules. The "Image" in FITS comes from the original use of the format to transport digital images, but it's not just for images any more.

A.      The "View Fits" utillity in fits manager allows you to view the contents of FITS files. First, the tool will show you a quick summary of all the HDUS in a tabular format. The information includes following fields:

*  Index: Tells the index of HDU in FITS file.

*   Extension Type: Tells you the type of extension. It can be an image or ascii table or binary table.

*   Dimension: Tells the dimensions of HDU.

*   Header: After clicking this link, you can see the detailed header information.

*   Table/Image: After clicking this link, you can see the tabular data(or Image) contained in HDU.

B.      The "Create Fits" utillity in fits manager allows you to create FITS file from existing image files. The image will be converted to a primary HDU in FITS file.

C.      The "Add Extension" utillity in fits manager allows you to add extensions to existing FITSfile. Currently, it supports only "Ascii table" and "Binary table" extensions. You can add any number of extensions.

D.      The "Convert Fits File" utillity in fits manager allows you to convert FITS file to other image formats. Only four formats are currently supported. They are: gif, jpg, mpeg and tiff