TRIPPy: Python based Trailed Source Photometry (submitted to the Astrophysical Journal)

Citation: If you use TRIPPy in your science works, please cite Fraser, W. et al., 2016, To appear in AJ. DOI at Zenodo: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.48694

1. Installation ===============

1a. Dependencies

TRIPPy depends on a few separate, equally useful python packages. These packages are:

• numpy
• scipy
• matplotlib
• astropy
• stsci.numdisplay
• emcee (optional)
• numba -- very very useful for big speed improvements. Highly recommended!!

An additional optional piece of software is the SExtractor package. This can often be installed with through standard linux repository systems (yum, apt-get, etc.) or can be simply downloaded and compiled. [Source is available here].(http://www.astromatic.net/software/sextractor)

Technically pip should automatically install all of the above requirements. In practice however, pip falls over quiet hilariously. Rather, the most reliable thing to do is install these requirements first.

All packages can be install using pip. eg. pip install stsci . Alternatively, the first four requirements can be installed (and maintained!) with an anaconda python installation. Instructions to install anaconda are available here.

Once numpy, scipy, matplotlib, and astropy are installed, stsci-python (which provides stsci.numdisplay) can be installed by the two commands

pip install stsci.distutils
pip install stscipython

This will compile and install all of the bits required by stsci-python.

Finally, the optional package emcee (MC Hammer) can be installed. This will provide robust source fitting utilities in the MCMCfit module.

Test that these modules are available by attempting to import each one:

python -c "import numpy; import scipy; import matplotlib; import astropy; import stsci.numdisplay"

If the optional emcee was installed

python -c "import emcee"

1b. TRIPPy installation

Once dependencies are installed, trippy can be installed with a simple pip invocation

pip install trippy

Accesibility can be checked with a few import commands

python -c "import trippy; from trippy import bgFinder; from trippy import psfStarChooser; from trippy import scamp"

and if the optional emcee package was installed

python -c "from trippy import MCMCfit"

NOTE: Currently no internal tests have been written. This will eventually change of course.

2. Usage ========

I have provided an ipython notebook which shows most of the functionality of the trippy package including PSF/TSF generation, photometry, and source fitting and removal. Please checkout the notebook.