GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 469654
fits files from the Hubble telescope lose detail when loading
Last modified: 2008-01-15 13:29:54 UTC
Please describe the problem: When loading 16 bit fits images from the Hubble telescope most of the detail can be lost. Most of the information for some of the images is in a small portion of the range of 0 to 255 range, say 0 to 30. The fits loader cannot change to log mode or some other rescaling of the range to capture the detail. This makes it impossible to use GIMP for creating RGB images from some Hubble data. Steps to reproduce: 1. Download an image from one filter for the HST. For example, use the file http://www.spacetelescope.org/projects/fits_liberator/datasets/eagle/502nmos.zip. from the ESA site. 2. Unzip the file and open it with GIMP. 3. Use layer> colors> levels or layer> colors> curves to try to adjust the greyscale image to show most of the detail. Actual results: You get a greyscale image without enough detail. Expected results: One hopes to get a greyscale image similar to the thumbnail on the page http://www.spacetelescope.org/projects/fits_liberator/eagledata.html Does this happen every time? Yes. Other information: The fits liberator plug-in for Photshop does this correctly for these images. This may be considered more of a feature request rather than a bug, but loading the Hubble images is iffy with the current fits loader.
*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of 74224 ***