Calculating FWHM

I am working on figuring out how to calculate the FWHM for sources in images we care about. IRAF has a dead simple command with imexamine that makes it really easy to do a radial analysis. I am having trouble running iraf on my computer, I guess it’s rusty cause it hasn’t been used in a while. I did just find a python program called imexam developed by a team member at STScI that emulates imexamine. I am working on running it right now.

I installed a program called pyds9 that I think will help imexam interface with ds9.

pyds9 does not have the XPA name server (XPANS). I am looking into how to install the XPA name server.

This page has some good documentation. Hopefully it will help.

XPANS is not something that I need to install it seems.

Using DOLPHOT

DOLPHOT is a Hubble photometry package written by Andrew Dolphin. This is the “black box” program that we will be using for our final Hubble photometry. IT performs PSF photometry which creates much more accurate results than the aperture photometry that we have been doing recently.

Dolphot is written mostly in C, I have worked very little with C, so it is pushing me out of my comfort zone a bit! that means I’m learning though!

I already have the C compiler gcc installed from xcode, and the dolphot documentation recommends gcc, so that is all set, I just have to figure out how to run dolphot.

I am working my way through the DOLPHOT documentation.

I am looking for a gnumake file which I believe I have to point to DOLPHOT.

hmm…

I’m pretty lost at this point. both of these processes are kind of tedious and I am slogging through things I am very unfamiliar with. I am going to put this day away now and try again tomorrow. May things make more sense then!