AstroPy: large astronomical python project

[Norbert Pirzkal]

Andy Ptak wrote:
> 
> Hello,
> I'm sorry if I already emailed this list about this, but I have decided to
> use Python as the primary language for a fairly large project (funded by
> an AISR grant) to automate the analysis of extra-galactic X-ray
> observations.  The proposal was based on an IDL package I had put together
> while in grad. school that concentrated mainly on ASCA data.  Part of the
> selling point of the proposal was to convert these routines to a free
> scripting language.  The project is early on at this point, but I have
> started to wrap a C++ library for python using SWIG.  So far I have a fits
> image handling class wrapped, and will later on be concentrating on other
> astronomical types like events lists, spectra, responses, light curves,
> etc.  I have also started to flesh out the overall structure of the
> Python code (much of which produces scripts to drive software like
> FTOOLS, XSPEC, etc).  If anyone has any advice, I'd be happy to hear it.
> I'd like to have the system be easily driven from the command line, from
> files for batch executions, from a GUI, and from a WWW page (given how
> reluctant a lot of astronomers are at downloading and installing software,
> I suspect the WWW interface will be the most important, at least
> initially).
> 
> Some more info is available at:
> http://snooker.phys.cmu.edu/xassist


	Hi,

	I have had the cfitsio library wrapped using swig (pfitsio) for a while
now and it has been working quite well for my own projects using HST
data.
	I am also completting a 100% Python FITS package which should be out in
alpha within a few weeks.
	There is also PyFits which you might want to look into.

			Cheers,
			Nor
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