[Aavso-photometry] FITS Keyword List

[Brian D. Warner]

Michael,

Thanks for that, but that only verifies what Mira uses. You say it is what
professionals use but, as I've said publicly and privately, I've found several
professional sites that offer their own set of keywords, i.e., there is no
direct evidence of "one FITS standard" beyond a limited set (see immediately
below). 

I went to 

  http://fits.gsfc.nasa.gov/fits_home.html

and searched through what documentation I could find

and specifically to

  http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/fcg/standard_dict.html
  http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/fcg/common_dict.html


There is no mention of GAIN or RDNOISE (?) as adopted FITS standard or even
commonly used keywords, those being two words you specifically mentioned
as being part of the standard. The second link provides links to other 
keyword dictionaries - extensions on the core standard, but I could not 
find those words.  

They may be on your list but they are not in the documentation, at least that
I could find. By providing this list, you've effectively said that we should 
accept the Mira list as "official" somehow (please note the quotes) since Mira 
is in compliance with the one standard.  

If that one standard truly does not include some of the keywords used by Mira, 
i.e., I didn't overlook them, then it really comes down to your list being yet 
another extension of the standard keywords. That's fine but why does that make 
it specifically in compliance with the one standard?

This discussion was premised on how software should comply with that one 
standard and went on to say that certain words are used or not used as they
should be. However, without having access to _independent_ documentation of 
the standard, how can any of us decide if the software we use or write is 
in compliance? All we have at this point is information to make other software
compatible with Mira but no independent confirmation of the "one FITS standard."

I'll ask again, if these are not the correct URLs for documentation on the one
standard, then what are? 


Clear Skies,
Brian D. Warner
Palmer Divide Observatory/Space Science Institute
http://www.MinorPlanetObserver.com

Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL)
http://www.MinorPlanetObserver.com/astlc/default.htm