QS spectral reduction software toolbox - Python

... under construction ... (may take some time..)

This is a [pretty large] set of python routines for inspection of FITS files and [scientific] data reduction of spectra. It uses the pyFITS routines from STScI for handling FITS data files. Although python works [in principle] both on Windows and Linux, the interactive graphics currently only work well under Linux using Tk as backend. If you would be interested, I'll be glad to provide you the source code as is, but have [unfortunately] absolutely no time for any support.

I started this project for several reasons:

1. although there are some good packages for data reduction available to amateurs (ISIS, VSPEC, IRAF, MIDAS) they provide little means for data visualisation (i.e. exploring what is in the data, comparison of a series of spectral images, etc.). No matter what I use, I always hit quickly the limitations of the software. A fully interactive language like Python enables one to do whatever one wishes.
2. my SMette echelette spectra could not be reduced (as far as I knew) with standard software. Although in recent years this may have changed; probably the Shelyak software for their echelle spectrograph  could be used now.
3. standard software does not calculate errors. Hey, we're in the 21st century !? 
   In addition I like to know what is done using reduction - I don't like a black box that performs a miracle
4. I just do not like endless point-and-click. I like to work with human editable configuration files that do the same work over and over again (and can be saved to document what I did)