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| IRAF/STSDAS | |
|---|---|
| Name | IRAF/STSDAS |
| Developer | National Optical Astronomy Observatory; Space Telescope Science Institute |
| Initial release | 1980s |
| Latest release | 2000s |
| Programming language | FORTRAN (programming language); C (programming language); SPP |
| Operating system | UNIX, Linux, Solaris, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows |
| License | Proprietary historical; community distributions |
IRAF/STSDAS is a widely used suite of astronomical software formed by the integration of a general image processing environment and a specialized astronomy package. It provided tools for image reduction, spectral analysis, photometry, and instrument calibration used by observatories, space missions, and research institutions. The system influenced pipelines for major facilities and was adopted by observatories, instrument teams, and archives for decades.
IRAF/STSDAS combined the Image Reduction and Analysis Facility from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory with the Space Telescope Science Data Analysis System developed at the Space Telescope Science Institute. The environment included a command language, task scheduler, and libraries for handling FITS-format data used by projects such as Hubble Space Telescope, Keck Observatory, Very Large Telescope, and Subaru Telescope. Its toolset supported astronomers working at institutions like European Southern Observatory, Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and University of Cambridge.
Development traces to work at NOAO in the late 1970s and 1980s, driven by needs from ground-based programs at sites such as Kitt Peak National Observatory and Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory. The STScI group extended IRAF to support data from the Hubble Space Telescope instruments, providing calibration pipelines for instruments like WFPC2, ACS, and STIS. Key contributors included scientists affiliated with Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and major university departments. Over time, collaborations with teams at European Space Agency, Max Planck Society, and National Research Council (Canada) broadened the user base. As computing shifted from dedicated UNIX workstations toward Linux clusters and personal computers, development responded with ports and packaging projects through the 1990s and 2000s.
The architecture used a layered model: the Digital Imaging Processing System core, the IRAF task infrastructure, and the STSDAS package modules. Core components were implemented in C (programming language) and FORTRAN (programming language), with the SPP preprocessor producing portable code for different platforms. The system employed a parameter-file mechanism and a scripting language adapted by research groups at Princeton University, University of California, Berkeley, and University of Arizona for automation. Data I/O followed the FITS standard adopted by the International Astronomical Union and coordinated with archives such as the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes and the NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive.
STSDAS provided instrument-specific calibration libraries and algorithms for tasks in image combination, cosmic-ray rejection, and distortion correction used in projects like Hubble Deep Field analyses and Sloan Digital Sky Survey follow-ups. Notable tools addressed photometric reduction, astrometric solution, and spectral extraction used by teams at Carnegie Institution for Science, Space Telescope Science Institute, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Packages implemented algorithms from influential works and collaborations involving researchers at University of Chicago, Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, and Stanford University. Many tasks interfaced with databases and catalogues maintained by SIMBAD astronomical database, VizieR, and the Two Micron All Sky Survey project.
Observers and instrument teams used the suite for calibration of imaging and spectroscopic data produced by facilities such as Gemini Observatory, Arecibo Observatory, W. M. Keck Observatory, and Palomar Observatory. Science applications included photometry for programs at Mount Wilson Observatory, spectral analysis for surveys like 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey, and pipeline processing for space missions administered by NASA and European Space Agency. Research groups at Yale University, Brown University, University of Oxford, and Imperial College London used tasks for high-precision astrometry, transient follow-up, and archival reprocessing. Training courses and workshops were offered through organizations such as American Astronomical Society meetings and summer schools at institutions including NOAO and STScI.
Originally optimized for commercial UNIX workstations from vendors like Sun Microsystems and Silicon Graphics, the system was ported to Linux distributions and later to Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows via compatibility layers. Porting efforts were coordinated with computing centers such as National Center for Supercomputing Applications and university IT groups. Interoperability with modern tools and languages — for example, interfaces developed by teams at Space Telescope Science Institute and European Southern Observatory to link with Python (programming language), AstroPy, and other community software — addressed evolving needs in data analysis.
Adoption across observatories, instrument teams, and archives created a strong legacy influencing contemporary astronomy software ecosystems. The package informed the design of pipeline frameworks at European Southern Observatory, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, and projects led by CERN-affiliated computing groups. Its accumulated algorithms, calibration histories, and workflows persist in archives curated by Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes and in conversions used by research groups at Princeton University, University of Arizona, and Caltech. Training materials and published methodologies continue to be cited in journals such as The Astrophysical Journal, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, and Astronomy & Astrophysics.
Category:Astronomy software