Software is being developed to "stitch" together multiple astronomical images of small, adjacent patches of the sky into a single mosaic image of a large portion of the sky. These mosaics make data from large areas of the sky readily available for efficient viewing of many types of celestial objects and large-scale structure in the sky that are not apparent on a smaller scale. This software can be run on both single-processor computers and multiprocessor systems. The input patch image data can be of any type, resolution, coordinate system, and projection consistent with the Flexible Image Transport System (FITS), which is a commonly used astronomical data format. The software uses information in FITS headers to reproject the input image data into a common coordinate system and then to translate the data into the output mosaic at a resolution and in a coordinate system specified by the user. This software is part of a "Virtual Observatory" system being developed for analysis and display of astronomical images and catalogs.
This program was written by Joseph Jacob of Caltech for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
This software is available for commercial licensing. Please contact Don Hart of the California Institute of Technology at (818) 393-3425. Refer to NPO-21121.
This Brief includes a Technical Support Package (TSP).
Software for Generating Mosaics of Astronomical Images
(reference NPO21121) is currently available for download from the TSP library.
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Overview
The document is a technical support package from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), detailing a software system developed by Joseph Jacob for high-performance visualization and analysis of large astronomical datasets. This software is part of the Digital Sky project, which aims to create a "virtual observatory" that allows for the interactive exploration of extensive sky image and catalog data.
The software is designed to handle terabytes of data from various sky surveys, enabling users to generate large sky image mosaics and perform real-time compositing of multi-resolution datasets. It supports efficient navigation through potentially vast datasets, allowing users to pan smoothly and jump to specific locations using pixel or sky coordinates. The system is optimized for high-resolution displays, such as a 3 x 2 PowerWall display, providing an effective resolution of 3840 x 2048.
The document emphasizes the challenges posed by the sheer volume of scientific data generated by modern sky surveys and the necessity for effective analysis tools to distill meaningful insights from this data. The software developed at JPL is intended to facilitate this analysis, making it easier for researchers to visualize and interpret complex astronomical information.
Additionally, the document outlines the collaborative nature of the project, which is part of a broader initiative to federate and provide seamless access to geographically distributed, multi-terabyte datasets. The work is conducted under a contract with NASA and aims to advance the state of the art in information technology for astronomical research.
The software is compatible with the Flexible Image Transport System (FITS), a standard format for astronomical data, ensuring that it can be integrated into existing workflows used by astronomers. The document also includes a disclaimer stating that references to specific commercial products do not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government or JPL.
Overall, this technical support package highlights the innovative efforts at JPL to enhance the capabilities of astronomers in analyzing and visualizing large-scale sky data, contributing to the ongoing development of a National Virtual Observatory.
