The PyFITS module is a Python library providing access to FITS files. FITS (Flexible Image Transport System) is a portable file standard widely used in the astronomy community to store images and tables.
PyFITS requires Python version 2.5 or newer. PyFITS also requires the numpy package. Information about numpy can be found at:
To download numpy, go to:
PyFITS’ source code is mostly pure Python, but includes an optional C module which wraps CFITSIO for compression support. The latest source distributions and binary installers for Windows can be downloaded from:
Or from the Python Package Index (PyPI) at:
PyFITS uses Python’s distutils for its installation. To install it, unpack the tar file and type:
python setup.py install
This will install PyFITS in the system’s Python site-packages directory. If your system permissions do not allow this kind of installation, use of virtualenv for personal installations is recommended.
In this guide, we’ll assume that the reader has basic familiarity with Python. Familiarity with numpy is not required, but it will help to understand the data structures in PyFITS.
The official PyFITS web page is:
If you have any question or comment regarding PyFITS, user support is available through the STScI Help Desk:
* E-mail: help@stsci.edu * Phone: (410) 338-1082