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

contents of this page

1) astronomy image processing software

2) web browser and applet FITS viewers

3) remote access telescopes

4) astronomy image processing curriculum activities

5) citizen science projects

6) coming sometime: astronomy java applets

  

image processing astronomy software for pc/mac

based on my experience, recommendations for intro astronomy  
         courses (based on ease of use and flexibility) are tagged          
  

software	operating system &  hardware	availability  & cost	image formats supported		audience (or software description)	e-mail contact (or user guide)
primarily for educators and student learners
primarily for amateur astronomers and CCD image enthusiasts
AIP	Windows 98SE or later	$99.95 (includes 684-pp book: 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"
Astromagic	Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7/8	free; donation encouraged	FITS (8, 16, 32)		professional astrometric measurements	info@astromagic.it
Astrometrica	Windows Vista/7/8/8,1//10	25 Euro/license (free 100-day trial)	FITS (8, 16, 32), SBIG		professional astrometric measurements
AstroArt	Windows XP through Windows 10	129 Euro for version 5 (upgrade from version 4.0: 89 euro)	FITS (8, 16), TIFF, JPEG and others		"A complete software for image processing, photometry, astrometry, camera control and image stacking for digital and film images."	astroart@msbsoftware.it
AVIS	Windows XP through Windows 10	freeware version of AstroArt software above	FITS (8, 16) & CCD SBIG files			msbsoftware@tin.it
ds9	Windows7/8/10 MacOSX 10.9-10.12   LINUX CentOS 6/7 LINUX Ubuntu 14/16	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
FITS Liberator	version 3 for Windows (minimum: XP, Vista or Windows 7, all 32 or 64 bit) Mac OS X-10.5+	free	FITS, PDS		"to create colour images using raw observations from a range of telescopes, including the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, ESO’s Very Large Telescope and ESA’s XMM-Newton Telescope"	user guide
FITSview	Windows  3.1/95/98/ME/XP/Vista Mac; Unix/Linux	free	FITS			bcotton@nrao.edu
FITS Preview	Mac OS X 10.8 or later, 64-bit processor	$4.99 available from the Mac App store	FITS			see also Cloudmakers xINDI Project
FITS4Win2	32 and 64-bit Windows Vista/7/8/10	AUD$75			"Displays FITS images wherever image previews or thumbnails are shown and allows full-sized images to be loaded into most of the latest Windows applications that handle images. Like Windows Explorer, File Dialog boxes, Windows Photo Viewer, Movie Maker and Microsoft Office components like Outlook, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc."
FITSPlug v2	Windows Photoshop plugin for v3 through v14	AUD$50			"load, save, and  export 8-, 16-, and 32-bit mono and 3-plane colour FITS images"
fv 5.4	Mac OS-X, most Windows and UNIX platforms	free	FITS file editor		"graphical program for viewing and editing FITS format images or tables"	ftoolshelp @athena.gsfc.nasa.gov
iCCD	Mac	free	FITS, TIFF, JPG, PICT, BMP. PDF		"controls the Starlight Express cameras and opens FITS files on the macintosh"	terryj@iit.edu
ImageTOOLSca	Windows	free	FITS, JPG, TIFF, BMP, and camera formats		"A lightweight image viewer for FITS and other formats"
IRAF	PC 486 or better running LINUX	free download $50 on CD	FITS		astronomers	iraf@noao.edu
Iris 5.59	Windows 95/98/NT	free	FITS, PIC, BMP
js9	web version (easiest access)	free	FITS (although it can also load, but not fully analyze, JPG and PNG images)		educators, students This is a web version of the stand-alone app ds9   You can drag-and-drop FITS images (from an external web site or a local directory) directly onto the image display for analysis some sample FITS image archives	Eric Mandel
	to install/run on local hard drive	free need WinZip or equivalent to unzip tgz file			You can also install js9 to analyze data locally go to the 'To install or not to install' section additional installation help at install help general help
Makali'i (Subaru)	version 2.0 for Windows Vista/7/8/8.1/10	free	FITS		educators, amateur astronomy research	user manual
Maxim (DL 5.0)	Windows	$599 MaxIm DL	FITS, TIFF,  JPG, BMP		"the perfect tool for amateur  and professional astronomers" primary (?) use is for observatory/camera control	sales @cyanogen.com
MicroObservatory Image 2.3	Windows Mac OS X Linux	free	FITS, GIF		students and educators	users manual
MIRA	Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10  (32 and 64 bit), or 100% compatible Windows environment on Linux or Mac.	public prices government prices academic price info	FITS, TIFF, JPEG, BMP, ...   8 to 64 bit, including 24 bit color..		advanced amateurs and professionals "Mira AL allows amateur astronomers, educators, and students to do real science on a tight budget." Mira Pro is a "powerful, general-use tool for astronomical research, including areas such as variable star research, exoplanet search, millimag level photometry, supernova patrol, minor planet detection & rotation studies, and data mining"	info@ametrics.com MIRA Pro Users Guide
QFitsView	Windows Mac OS X Linux	free	FITS			Thomas Ott
Remote Astronomy Software [combines CCDSoft 5.0 (CCD controller & image processor)  & TheSky (planetarium  program)]	Windows various	various, depending on version/level	FITS, TIFF, JPEG, BMP, and others		educators,  amateur astronomers	support@bisque.com
Salsa J (subset of ImageJ)	Windows Mac OS-X Linux	free	FITS		students & educators multi-language (8 European)
Siril	Windows, Mac OS-X, LINUX and more	now in nearly complete beta testing	primarily 16-bit FITS		primarily for amateur astronomers and CCD image enthuaiasts	Cyril Richard news wiki documentation
image processors that read FITS images, but with no astronomy orientation	Image J TRIA VIPS
software no  longer available	HOU (Hands On Universe), Image-32, Quantum Image, Scion Image; also, JPEG Viewer and NIH Image have been removed from this list because they do not read FITS images

web & applet astronomical image viewers

program	type of application	statement of purpose	cost	contact
Aladin Sky Atlas	Java Standalone application    Java web applet	"allows the user to visualize digitized astronomical images, superimpose entries from astronomical catalogues or databases, and interactively access related data and information from the Simbad database, the VizieR service, ..."	free	user guide
jFITS	Java applet	"a Java Swing based application and applet for quickly viewing and performing simple operations on astronomical FITS formatted CCD imaging data."	free
js9 see details above	easy-to-use web version of a stand alone app
Sky Image Processor (SIP)	Java applet	"to learn how to accomplish the three major tasks of astronomical imaging: image processing and analysis, photometry, astrometry"	free	jsimonetti@vt.edu

 

remote access telescope projects (open to public)
(updated 10/10/2020)

program	image format	open to image requests?	image archive open?	statement of purpose	e-mail contact
Faulkes Telescope Project global network of 8 telescopes		yes, with teacher registration yes, with registration by astronomical societies $ science centers		click here
GLoRIA project				not clear if this project is currently operational
ITelescope.net	FITS?	yes, but requires membership (starting at $19.95 per 28 days)	requires membership (it appears that you can access only your images even with membership)	membership includes  tutorials for telescope  operation and image processing	support@itelescope.net
MicroObservatory several 6-inch telescopes in MA and AZ	FITS,  GIF	yes, with enrollment	yes	click here	rgould @cfa.harvard.edu (Roy Gould)
Open Science Observatories collection of telescopes in Canary Islands	FITS	yes	yes with registration		raap @rot.physics.ucsb.edu (Tom Fuller, Coordinator)
SkyNet (UNC) 10+ observatories worldwide		yes, 30 min observing time, with registration in Skynet University course or with students associated with donor institutions		click here	contact for Skynet University
SLOOH 10 telescopes in Chile & Canary Islands		yes, with non-free membership	yes, with free registration	click here	contact
Telescopes in Education (TIE) 1 telescope at Norrick Peak, AZ		access to program participants  K-12	some GIF samples	click here	mcragg@earthlink.net