[fitsbits] FIT Keyword data dictionaries

[Patrick Wallace]

On Fri, 3 Nov 2000, Doug Mink wrote:

<snip>

> TELESCOP= 'flwo1.2m'           / TELESCOPE NAME
> TELGLONG=             110.8748 /LONGITUDE, DEGREES WEST OF ZERO
> TELGLAT =              31.6809 /LATITUDE, DEGREES
> TELELEV =               2320.0 /ELEVATION, METERS

Are west-positive longitudes an established convention in FITS?  Although
at one time both west-positive and east-positive conventions were in use,
now the east-positive convention is universal.  Sorry USA: you're minus.

I should add that the SLALIB routine sla_OBS routine uses west-positive,
but this choice is historical.  (And regrettable;  I use east-positive
everywhere else, and warn in letters of fire that the sla_OBS convention
is an aberration.)


Patrick Wallace
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