Package updates

At last! By popular request, the official versions of nine AstrOmatic packages have been updated and include all the improvements from the development versions.Note: It was initially decided not to tag those versions as official until the new features were properly documented, but unfortunately documentation is still lagging behind 🙄 .

Notable changes include:

• MissFITS 2.8 : bugfixes
• PSFEx 3.17 : bugfixes, support for the MKL, improved regularization, output star catalogue
• SCAMP 2.0.1 : bugfixes, support for the MKL, proper motions, additional reference catalogues, TPV projections, “pre-distorted” mode, non-linear variable distortions, new selection criteria and an improved solver
• SExtractor 2.19.5 : bugfixes, support for MKL, new MODEL-fitting parameters, differential model-fitting photometry, SPREAD_MODEL star/galaxy classifier and shear measurements
• SkyMaker 3.10.5 : bugfixes, support for MKL, improved galaxy sampling, Sérsic models, PSF datacubes
• STIFF 2.4 : bugfixes
• Stuff 1.26 : bugfixes, support for constant shear and IGM absorption
• SWarp 2.38 : bugfixes, new weight-oriented combination modes, dedicated resampling and combination modes for flag maps, clipped mean combination mode,  TPV projections, and file descriptor containment
• WeightWatcher 1.12 : bugfixes

Stay tuned for new developments in the coming days!

PSFEx release

PSFEx has been launched! PSFEx  (“PSF Extractor”) extracts models of the Point Spread Function (PSF) from FITS images processed with SExtractor, and measures the quality of images. The generated PSF models can be used for model-fitting photometry or morphological analyses.

PSFEx features:

• Modelling of any arbitrary non-parametric or parametric, bandwidth-limited, PSF.
• Reconstruction of PSF from undersampled images using super-resolution on the pixel basis, the Gauss-Laguerre basis, the Karhunen-Loeve basis, or a user-provided vector basis.
• Modelling of PSF variations as a polynomial function of position in image, or other SExtractor measurements, or numerical FITS header parameters.
• Tracking of hidden PSF dependencies using Principal Component Analysis.
• Computation of PSF homogenisation kernels (to convert variable instrumental PSFs to constant round Moffat profiles).
• Automated selection of point sources.
• Compatibility with SExtractor FITS or Multi-Extension-FITS catalogue format in input,
• XML VOTable-compliant output of meta-data.
• XSLT filter sheet provided for convenient access to metadata from a regular web browser.

Check out the PSFEx homepage.

SWarp 2.19.1 release

SWarp 2.19.1 has been released! This version brings several new bugfixes and features:

• a RESCALE_WEIGHTS configuration switch (defaulted to Y) has been added; setting RESCALE_WEIGHTS to N turns off the automatic weight- and variance-rescaling based on actual noise levels measured in the images,
• astrometric flux rescaling code has been rewritten to solve manual background subtraction issues,
• an MJD-OBS keyword (start of observations) has been added to output FITS headers,
• documentation has been rejuvenated.

More details can be found in the ChangeLog.

MissFITS 2.4 release

MissFITS V2.4.0 has been released! This version is mostly a bugfix release; MissFITS now works on Mac OS X.

More details can be found in the ChangeLog.

SCAMP 1.7.0 release

SCAMP V1.7.0 has been released! This version adds the following features:

• support for the GSC-2.3.2 and PPMX astrometric catalogues
• support for HTTP proxies in CDSclient queries (make sure you have the latest version of CDSclient installed, as well as wget),
• CFH12k and VIRCam .ahead focal plane models.
• critical bug fixed in the shear correction procedure of catalog matching (would compromise the matching of sources for wide field instruments in cases of strong differential refraction).

More details can be found in the ChangeLog.