The ESA/ESO/NASA FITS Liberator is free software which makes it possible to process and edit astronomical science data in the FITS format to produce images of the universe. Version 3 and later are standalone programs; earlier versions were plugins for Adobe Photoshop.
The FITS file format archives nearly all images of stars, nebulae and galaxies produced by outer space and ground-based telescopes from all over the world.
The engine behind the FITS Liberator is NASA’s CFITSIO library. FITS is an abbreviation for Flexible Image Transport System and has been a standard since 1982 and is recognized by the International Astronomical Union.
Although the first version of the software was an excellent tool mainly for 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 also become the industry standard for professional imaging scientists at the European Space Agency, the European Southern Observatory and NASA. It is utilized on images from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Very Large Telescope (VLT), among others, to craft beautiful astronomical colour images.
The first and second versions of the FITS Liberator were released in July 2004 and in August 2005 respectively. The latest version of this image processing software, V.3.0, was released in October 2010 and is available for download at the European Homepage of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. V3.0 is a standalone product as Adobe Photoshop is no longer required to use it.
Read more about FITS Liberator: Version 1, Version 2, How To Use It
Famous quotes containing the word fits:
“Don’t you think he fits my shoes very well, your ladyship?”
—Stanley Kubrick (b. 1928)