Original author(s) | ESA/ESO/NASA/NSF/NOIRLab/Caltech IPAC/STScI/CFA. |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Kaspar K. Nielsen, Teis Johansen, Juan Fajardo Barrero, David Zambrano Lizarazo |
Stable release | |
Repository | https://gitlab.com/noirlab/fits-liberator-gui |
Written in | C++ / JavaScript |
Operating system | Linux, Windows, macOS |
License | BSD-3 license |
Website | noirlab.edu/public/products/fitsliberator/ |
The ESA/ESO/NASAFITS (Flexible Image Transport System) Liberator is a free software program for processing and editing astronomical science data in the FITS format to reproduce images of the universe. Version 3 and later are standalone programs; earlier versions were plugins for Adobe Photoshop. FITS Liberator is free software released under the BSD-3 license.[1] The engine behind the FITS Liberator is NASA's CFITSIO library.
Selecting Preview from the file menu will display FITS images in the Windows Photo Viewer for preview, but without requiring Photo Viewer to be associated with the FITS file types. This applies to previews only (i.e. Any time you select preview from a FITS file context menu (right-click the file name)). Mar 17, 2021 How Equity Compensation Fits Into Your Clients' Financial Plans Company stock can be a significant wealth-building opportunity, but uncertainty still surrounds its role in a portfolio. Free download manager.
FITS has been a standard since 1982 and is recognized by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). While not limited solely to image data, archives in the FITS file format include images of stars, nebulae and galaxies produced by space-based and ground-based telescopes from around the world.
Although the first version of the software was an excellent tool used mainly by professional astronomers, efforts have been made to bring high quality astronomical images to the homes of amateur astronomers, educators and students. The FITS Liberator has become the industry standard for professional imaging scientists at the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Southern Observatory (ESO), and NASA. It uses images from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and the Very Large Telescope (VLT), among others, to craft beautiful colour astronomical images.
The first and second versions of the FITS Liberator were released in July 2004 and August 2005 respectively, the version, v3.0.1, was released in February 2012. The latest version 4.0.0 is available for download at the NOIRLab main repository . Starting with v3.0.1, FITS Liberator is a stand-alone product and Adobe Photoshop is no longer required for its use; the latest version is available for the three major operating systems.
Version 1[edit]
Version 1 of the ESA/ESO/NASA Photoshop FITS Liberator was completed in July 2004 by imaging scientists at the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Southern Observatory (ESO), and NASA. Version 1 allowed all types of FITS images to be opened and also some limited interaction with the images.
Version 2[edit]
- The preview window
- Histogram
- Tools
- Statistics
- Advanced tools for scaling and stretch
The basic workflow is to open a FITS image, study it in the Preview window, adjust the black-and-white levels (6) to give a reasonable contrast and then set the input range for the scaling of the image by clicking the Auto Scaling Button (7). Now, different values of the Scaled Peak level can be tested to scale the image to better fit with one of the possible Stretch functions (8).
Version 2 of the ESA/ESO/NASA Photoshop FITS Liberator image processing software made it both easier and faster to create colour images from raw observations. Updates included:
- FITS images with up to 4 billion grey scales can be processed (32 bit support).
- FITS images with up to 500 million pixels or more can be processed (100 times larger than standard images from a digital camera).
- Re-designed workflow and user interface. The plug-in remembers previous settings.
- New options for advanced scaling and stretching.
An entire section of v2.0 was dedicated to metadata input and the user also had access to a text version of the original FITS header.
With the advent of the FITS Liberator v2.0, it became possible for people at home to create spectacular pictures like the iconic Hubble image Pillars of Creation in a matter of minutes.
An updated version of the software containing new scaling and stretching tools is available that allows better manipulation of astronomical images. An update in v2.1 is the ability for users to embed descriptive information about the image and what it shows directly within the final image. Based on a new standard for Astronomy Visualization Metadata (AVM), this information is stored in the standard manner comparable to that used by digital cameras to record exposure information.
The ESA/ESO/NASA WFPC2 Mosaicator: This new add-on tool works on Hubble WFPC2 images. It will generate a single WFPC2 mosaic file from one WFPC2 file containing four CCD images in individual planes.
The ESA/ESO/NASA FITS Concatenator: This Adobe Photoshop script will combine the metadata from two or more individual exposures after the FITS Liberation process.
Version 3[edit]
Version 3.0 of the FITS Liberator include the following new features:[2]
- FITS Liberator is a stand-alone application, no longer requiring Adobe Photoshop.
- Processing medium-sized images is up to 35% faster, thanks to significantly improved memory management.
- Processing large images are also faster thanks to delayed application of stretch functions.
- FITS Liberator saves TIFF files that open in almost any image processing software.
Version 4[edit]
Version 4.0 of the FITS Liberator was released on 4 March 2021, include the new features:
- 64 bit operating systems are now supported.
- MacOSX, Windows and Linux support.
- Command Line Interface available for batch processing of FITS files.
- Full support for big images (even greater than available memory)
- Dark Mode.
- Full screen.
Fits Preview Instagram
Version 4 is being developed with the sponsorship of NSF, NOIRLab, Caltech IPAC, ESA , STScI and CFA.
The Team[edit]
The team that produced FITS Liberator 1.0 to 3.0.1 consists of:
Project Executive: Lars Lindberg Christensen
Technical Project Manager: Lars Holm Nielsen
Developers: Kaspar K. Nielsen & Teis Johansen
Scientific, technical support and testing: Robert Hurt & David de Martin
Fits Preview Video
The team that produced FITS Liberator 4 consist of:
Fits Preview Free
Developers: David Zambrano Lizarazo & Juan Fajardo Barrero
Scientific, technical support and testing: Robert Hurt
GUI & Logo Design: David Zambrano Lizarazo
Project Executive: Lars Lindberg Christensen
Technical Project Manager: Javier Enciso
How to use it[edit]
For experienced users there is a Quick Start Guide available at the FITS Liberator website. [3]
You can give it a try to the FITS Liberator interface using an Interactive Tour available at the BitPointer website. [4]
For new users a Full User Guide for the FITS Liberator 3, can be obtained from the European homepage of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.[5]
References[edit]
- ^'Google Code Archive - Long-term storage for Google Code Project Hosting'. Code.google.com. Retrieved 2016-02-24.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^'ESA/ESO/NASA FITS Liberator Version 3 Released | ESA/Hubble'. Spacetelescope.org. 2010-10-01. Retrieved 2016-02-24.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^'QuickStart Guide for FITS Liberator 4'(PDF).
- ^'The FITS Liberator 4 Interactive Tour'.
- ^'User's Guide : The ESA/ESO/NASA FITS Liberator : v.3.0'(PDF). Spacetelescope.org. Retrieved 2016-02-24.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
External links[edit]
- The ESA/ESO/NASA FITS Liberator v3.0.1 spacetelescope.org
Note
Office 365 ProPlus is being renamed to Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. For more information about this change, read this blog post.
Symptoms
In a Microsoft Office Excel workbook, you select the Fit to option in the Page Setup dialog box. However, when you print this workbook or when you use the print preview feature to view the workbook, you receive the following error message:
Margins do not fit page size.
Additionally, many pages that have a scale of 10 percent may be printed.
Cause
This issue may occur if the printer driver uses the XML Paper Specification (XPS) PageScaling feature. When the driver uses this feature, Excel cannot determine the scale of the workbook.
Workaround
To work around this issue, use one of the following methods.
Method 1
Use a printer driver that does not use the XPS PageScaling feature.
Method 2
Manually set the scale instead of using the Fit to option. To do this, follow these steps:
- Open the Excel workbook.
- Click the Page Layout tab.
- In the Page Setup group, click Page Setup to open the Page Setup dialog box.
- In the Page Setup dialog box, click to select the Adjust to option, enter a number for the scale, and then click OK.