Image Retriever
The image retriever is a command-line tool that enables batch retrieval
of images from the Digitized Sky Survey to your local disk. It uses an
input file that contains a list of images to retrieve. It then requests
each image sequentially from the DSS, storing each to your local disk after
retrieval.
Usage
image_retriever input_file_location output_directory
Input File
The input file format is very simple. Each file can contain one or more
image requests, one request per line. Each line is considered a separate image
request except lines preceded by '#' or '//' which are interpreted as comments.
There are two types of requests: by target name and by position:
- Target name requests use SIMBAD to resolve the position.
Format: target name [, width] [, height] [, survey][, PlateID][, FileName]
- Position requests are formatted as HH MM SS.S, DD MM SS.S.
Format: right ascension, declination [, width] [, height] [, survey][, PlateID][, FileName]
For more information on these fields and the available surveys,
simply invoke the image_retriever without any input or output location
specified.
Output Directory
Image retriever stores the image files in the output directory you specify
on the command line. Along with the FITS file, the it stores a GIF thumbnail
icon for the image.
Known Limitations
-
Image retriever always goes to the DSS server at the STScI and provides
no way to choose mirror servers.