[fitsbits] Stokes axis convention

[Douglas Tody]

The VO standards are based upon the FITS convention (e.g., polarization
types, IQUV, LL, RR, etc.), except that the integer coding is not used.
The names of the polarization states as defined in FITS WCS are used
instead, hence the scheme is easily extended, although usage so far
merely mirrors FITS.  - Doug


On Fri, 19 Dec 2014, William Thompson wrote:

> The original WCS paper included a way of expressing Stokes parameters as one 
> of the dimensions of a data cube, and this has since been incorporated into 
> version 3.0 of the FITS standard.  I was wondering to what extent this 
> capability has been taken up by the community.  Is it widely used?
>
> I ask because I was looking at a rough draft of a document describing data 
> formatting for a solar virtual observatory being put together in Europe, and 
> one part of the document called for putting each Stokes parameter in a 
> separate HDU.  Based on the current FITS document, that would seem contrary 
> to common and accepted practice in the broader astronomical community, and I 
> would like to confirm that.
>
> Bill Thompson
>
> -- 
> William Thompson
> NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
> Code 671
> Greenbelt, MD  20771
> USA
>
> 301-286-2040
> William.T.Thompson at nasa.gov
>
> _______________________________________________
> fitsbits mailing list
> fitsbits at listmgr.nrao.edu
> https://listmgr.nrao.edu/mailman/listinfo/fitsbits
>