[fitsbits] Start of the ''MBFITS" Public Comment Period

This is to announce the start of the 30-day Public Comment Period on the
'Multi-Beam FITS (MBFITS)' FITS convention that has been submitted for
inclusion in the 'Registry of FITS Conventions' that is maintained by
the IAU FITS Working Group. This is the 6th in a growing series of
conventions submitted for inclusion in the Registry.

A document describing this convention is available for public review
and comment from the FITS registry web page at

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

MBFITS is the raw data format for multibeam receivers based on FITS to
be used at the IRAM 30m and APEX 12m mm/submm telescopes. This format is
suitable for single-dish bolometer and heterodyne observations. MBFITS
borrowed some of its design concepts from the ALMA-TI FITS format, but
has added new structures and keywords to accommodate multiple beam
observing and multiple frontend or backend combinations.

This is a rather large and complex convention (the definition document
is 60 pages long) that uses other FITS conventions, such as the
Hierarchical Grouping convention which is used to organize the
distributed set of FITS data files. There is also an extended
discussion on how world coordinates should be represented.

Comments may be posted here on the FITSBITS mail exploder or the
sci.astro.fits newsgroup. Minor typographical issues may be sent
directly to the author of the convention.

Bill Pence
(on behalf of the IAU FITS Working Group)
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__________________________________________________ __________________
Dr. William Pence
NASA/GSFC Code 662 HEASARC +1-301-286-4599 (voice)
Greenbelt MD 20771 +1-301-286-1684 (fax)