<p>I suspect that everything you want and more is available and written in python or has python wrappers.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.astropy.org/" rel="nofollow">Astropy</a>
<a href="https://github.com/astropy/ccdproc" rel="nofollow">ccdproc</a>
<a href="https://pypi.python.org/pypi/photutils" rel="nofollow">photutils</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-09T00:36:47.267Z
Thank you Rob! Those are the same packages I found today when looking for something to replace IRAF. As far as I understand the `ccdproc` package takes care of the reduction part (bias, flat, dark, etc), and the `photutils` package does the photometry. Do you happen to know if `photutils` can handle assigning absolute magnitudes (ie: using standard stars), combining frames with different exposures, and cross-matching several filters? I ususally work with crowded frames (star clusters) and this is the procedure needed.
Gabriel
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-09T00:38:12.017Z
I also found the [THELI](https://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/theli/) tool ([Schirmer 2013](http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013ApJS..209...21S)). Have you heard of it? I think it can also handle the reduction+photometry process.
Gabriel
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-09T00:48:15.973Z
@Gabriel Sorry, I am not a big user of photometry packages - and I use IRAF! What clusters are you analysing - globulars?
ProfRob
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-09T01:04:48.633Z
Mostly open clusters, so not *that* crowded. Thanks Rob, I think your answer is the closest one to what I asked anyway. I'll wait a day or two just in case, and if no better question is given, I'll mark yours as accepted.
Gabriel
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-09T02:26:58.970Z
An ill-spent youth @Gabriel   http://www.aanda.org/component/article?access=bibcode&bibcode=&bibcode=2001A%2526A...375..863JFUL
ProfRob
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-09T03:17:12.860Z
So you are the Jeffries from [Naylor & Jeffries (2006)](http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006MNRAS.373.1251N)! Nice to meet you sir.
Gabriel
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-12T14:05:17.270Z
Since no other answer was posted presenting any other software, I'm accepting this one. Than you Rob!
Gabriel
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-08T21:47:29.530Z
2016-07-08T22:01:30.437Z
2016-07-08T22:01:30.437Z
ProfRob
<p>I am having the same issue too. Been considering using <strong>Python with Numpy, SciPy, and Astropy</strong>, supplement that with <strong>GNU Octave</strong> and <strong>PyRAF</strong>. I heard some younger students would opt for the proprietary MATLAB in lieu of GNU Octave. My supervisor belongs to the older generation so I will have to <em>also</em> learn IRAF to effectively communicate with him. Some calibration scientist recommended me to use the <strong>Herschel Interactive Processing Environment (HIPE)</strong>, which has been developed for the ESA Herschel pipelines (like PACS and SPIRE) in mind and uses Jython (a hybrid of Python and Java). But I am learning to use that too, before either I become proficient in Python or developed some software with a proper GUI of my own... </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-28T14:57:08.887Z
IDL has been suggested as an option to me as well. But I would need a license to use it.
Other options detailed on this AstroBites webpage: https://astrobites.org/guides/guide-to-astrophysical-software/
If you are a theorist, Mathematica might be a good option for handling higher-level conceptual stuff. But if you are an observational astrophysicist, then MATLAB or GNU Octave are better at handling a large quantity of data.
Lame Duck
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-29T15:18:34.940Z
Also, A.I.P. has developed a software for fibre-fed integral field spectrograph called p3d, with official website at: http://p3d.sourceforge.net/index.php?page=about
Lame Duck
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-28T11:45:13.227Z
2017-12-28T11:45:13.227Z
Lame Duck
<p>There is an AstroImageJ. Available on windows, mac, and linux
<a href="https://www.astro.louisville.edu/software/astroimagej/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.astro.louisville.edu/software/astroimagej/</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-21T22:56:25.177Z
2019-04-21T22:56:25.177Z
Evan I. Akbar
<p>AIP4Win has a comprehensive photometry package, also I believe MaximDL (though more expensive) has some as well.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-08T14:39:00.520Z
Thank you. I forgot to mention I work with Linux, but that was my mistake. This tool (only works on Windows) appears to only be able to take on the reducing part, not the CCD photometry. Am I right?
Gabriel
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-08T15:00:06.690Z
They are both Windows only, but both will reduce and do photometry.
James Screech
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-08T07:22:24.593Z
2016-07-08T07:22:24.593Z
James Screech
<p>The <a href="http://iraf.noao.edu/iraf/web/" rel="nofollow">IRAF</a> package is <em>old</em>.</p>

<p>I've been looking around for a more modern software to replace it in the processes of CCD data reduction and photometry, but haven't been able to find any.</p>

<p>The closest I've found is the <a href="http://www.stsci.edu/institute/software_hardware/pyraf" rel="nofollow">PyRAF</a> tool, but this seems more like a Python wrapper around IRAF rather than a replacement for it.</p>

<p>Is there some new software I might've miss or is IRAF really the only option even today?</p>

<hr>

<p><strong>Add</strong>:</p>

<p>I forgot to mention this, but I'm looking for tools that work under Linux and are free (open source + no charge), if possible. I will not pay (neither for a Windows license nor for a software package) to get rid of IRAF.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-07T23:21:22.667Z
I'm not an observational astronomer, but from what I've heard from my colleagues, PyRAF is the way to go.  Pretty much all the standard photometry routines are written in IRAF or PyRAF so you'll be doing yourself a favor by sticking to them.
J. O'Brien Antognini
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-07T23:28:28.553Z
That's what I feared. It's amazing to think that no one has come up yet with something to replace IRAF.
Gabriel
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-07T23:59:28.847Z
It's sad, but no one really has an incentive to develop software.  I forgot to mention that the AstroPy package has handling for FITS files.  But I think that PyRAF still has a more comprehensive library of image reduction routines.  Still, you should skim the AstroPy documentation to see if it would be useful to you.
J. O'Brien Antognini
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-08T13:49:49.387Z
Why should someone come up with something to replace IRAF? It works. Don't fix what isn't broken. I will admit though that IRAF is a pain in the a$$ to use and prone to not working at the slightest mistake on your part, which is where PyRAF comes in. It should be simpler and easier to use than IRAF directly, while still providing the same functionality as IRAF. Besides, astronomers tend to be people doing long-term studies over years or decades. They're not the type to switch their analysis method easily.
zephyr
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-08T14:36:48.203Z
It works because people keep taking the time to work around it, precisely because there is nothing to replace it. [Example](http://astroconda.readthedocs.io/en/latest/faq.html#why-is-iraf-32-bit-instead-of-64-bit): *"Many of the IRAF tasks that we include with AstroConda are so old that they cannot be compiled as 64-bit executables without significant changes to the source code"*.
Gabriel
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-08T16:50:10.103Z
What is it that you think that IRAF cannot do? There are lots of photometry packages that work on fits files, but the basics of data reduction haven't changed in several decades. You could always use Python to write your own if it's a real problem.
ProfRob
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-08T17:46:34.650Z
I didn't say there's anything IRAF can not do. I said it is *old*, and I add that it is a pain ion the ass to install and use. Precisely because it is *terribly old*. Yes, I could use Python but it would take me months (or more) of work. That's why I came here asking if perhaps it had been done already.
Gabriel
<software><photometry>
Data reduction and photometry without IRAF?
Gabriel
# Data reduction and photometry without IRAF?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-07-07)

The [IRAF](http://iraf.noao.edu/iraf/web/) package is *old*.

I've been looking around for a more modern software to replace it in the processes of CCD data reduction and photometry, but haven't been able to find any.

The closest I've found is the [PyRAF](http://www.stsci.edu/institute/software_hardware/pyraf) tool, but this seems more like a Python wrapper around IRAF rather than a replacement for it.

Is there some new software I might've miss or is IRAF really the only option even today?

---

**Add**:

I forgot to mention this, but I'm looking for tools that work under Linux and are free (open source + no charge), if possible. I will not pay (neither for a Windows license nor for a software package) to get rid of IRAF.

**Tags:** software, photometry

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I'm not an observational astronomer, but from what I've heard from my colleagues, PyRAF is the way to go.  Pretty much all the standard photometry routines are written in IRAF or PyRAF so you'll be doing yourself a favor by sticking to them.  
> **username_0**: That's what I feared. It's amazing to think that no one has come up yet with something to replace IRAF.  
> **username_1**: It's sad, but no one really has an incentive to develop software.  I forgot to mention that the AstroPy package has handling for FITS files.  But I think that PyRAF still has a more comprehensive library of image reduction routines.  Still, you should skim the AstroPy documentation to see if it would be useful to you.  
> **username_2**: Why should someone come up with something to replace IRAF? It works. Don't fix what isn't broken. I will admit though that IRAF is a pain in the a$$ to use and prone to not working at the slightest mistake on your part, which is where PyRAF comes in. It should be simpler and easier to use than IRAF directly, while still providing the same functionality as IRAF. Besides, astronomers tend to be people doing long-term studies over years or decades. They're not the type to switch their analysis method easily.  
> **username_0**: It works because people keep taking the time to work around it, precisely because there is nothing to replace it. [Example](http://astroconda.readthedocs.io/en/latest/faq.html#why-is-iraf-32-bit-instead-of-64-bit): *"Many of the IRAF tasks that we include with AstroConda are so old that they cannot be compiled as 64-bit executables without significant changes to the source code"*.  
> **username_3**: What is it that you think that IRAF cannot do? There are lots of photometry packages that work on fits files, but the basics of data reduction haven't changed in several decades. You could always use Python to write your own if it's a real problem.  
> **username_0**: I didn't say there's anything IRAF can not do. I said it is *old*, and I add that it is a pain ion the ass to install and use. Precisely because it is *terribly old*. Yes, I could use Python but it would take me months (or more) of work. That's why I came here asking if perhaps it had been done already.  

---

## 4 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2016-07-08. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

I suspect that everything you want and more is available and written in python or has python wrappers.

[Astropy](http://www.astropy.org/)
[ccdproc](https://github.com/astropy/ccdproc)
[photutils](https://pypi.python.org/pypi/photutils)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you Rob! Those are the same packages I found today when looking for something to replace IRAF. As far as I understand the `ccdproc` package takes care of the reduction part (bias, flat, dark, etc), and the `photutils` package does the photometry. Do you happen to know if `photutils` can handle assigning absolute magnitudes (ie: using standard stars), combining frames with different exposures, and cross-matching several filters? I ususally work with crowded frames (star clusters) and this is the procedure needed.  
> **username_0**: I also found the [THELI](https://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/theli/) tool ([Schirmer 2013](http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013ApJS..209...21S)). Have you heard of it? I think it can also handle the reduction+photometry process.  
> **username_3**: @username_0 Sorry, I am not a big user of photometry packages - and I use IRAF! What clusters are you analysing - globulars?  
> **username_0**: Mostly open clusters, so not *that* crowded. Thanks Rob, I think your answer is the closest one to what I asked anyway. I'll wait a day or two just in case, and if no better question is given, I'll mark yours as accepted.  
> **username_3**: An ill-spent youth @username_0   http://www.aanda.org/component/article?access=bibcode&bibcode=&bibcode=2001A%2526A...375..863JFUL  
> **username_0**: So you are the Jeffries from [Naylor & Jeffries (2006)](http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006MNRAS.373.1251N)! Nice to meet you sir.  
> **username_0**: Since no other answer was posted presenting any other software, I'm accepting this one. Than you Rob!  

---

### Answer by username_4 on 2017-12-28. Score: 1

I am having the same issue too. Been considering using **Python with Numpy, SciPy, and Astropy**, supplement that with **GNU Octave** and **PyRAF**. I heard some younger students would opt for the proprietary MATLAB in lieu of GNU Octave. My supervisor belongs to the older generation so I will have to *also* learn IRAF to effectively communicate with him. Some calibration scientist recommended me to use the **Herschel Interactive Processing Environment (HIPE)**, which has been developed for the ESA Herschel pipelines (like PACS and SPIRE) in mind and uses Jython (a hybrid of Python and Java). But I am learning to use that too, before either I become proficient in Python or developed some software with a proper GUI of my own...

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: IDL has been suggested as an option to me as well. But I would need a license to use it. Other options detailed on this AstroBites webpage: https://astrobites.org/guides/guide-to-astrophysical-software/ If you are a theorist, Mathematica might be a good option for handling higher-level conceptual stuff. But if you are an observational astrophysicist, then MATLAB or GNU Octave are better at handling a large quantity of data.  
> **username_4**: Also, A.I.P. has developed a software for fibre-fed integral field spectrograph called p3d, with official website at: http://p3d.sourceforge.net/index.php?page=about  

---

### Answer by username_5 on 2019-04-21. Score: 0

There is an AstroImageJ. Available on windows, mac, and linux
<https://www.astro.louisville.edu/software/astroimagej/>


---

### Answer by username_6 on 2016-07-08. Score: 0

AIP4Win has a comprehensive photometry package, also I believe MaximDL (though more expensive) has some as well.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you. I forgot to mention I work with Linux, but that was my mistake. This tool (only works on Windows) appears to only be able to take on the reducing part, not the CCD photometry. Am I right?  
> **username_6**: They are both Windows only, but both will reduce and do photometry.  

---

