AST: A library for modelling and manipulating coordinate systems
Abstract
In view of increased interest in object-oriented systems for describing coordinate information, we present a description of the data model used by the Starlink AST library. AST provides a comprehensive range of facilities for attaching world co-ordinate systems to astronomical data, and for retrieving and interpreting that information in a variety of formats, including FITS-WCS. AST is a mature system that has been in use for more than 17 years, and may consequently be useful as a means of informing development of similar systems in the future.
- Publication:
-
Astronomy and Computing
- Pub Date:
- April 2016
- DOI:
- 10.1016/j.ascom.2016.02.003
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1602.06681
- Bibcode:
- 2016A&C....15...33B
- Keywords:
-
- World Coordinate Systems;
- Data models;
- Starlink;
- Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- doi:10.1016/j.ascom.2016.02.003