Observations that you take using the Liverpool Telescope are returned to you in the form of data files called FITS files. You can process a FITS to make a nice image and carry out measurements but you cannot open a FITS using common photo editing software. It may make more sense to think of a FITS as a document. As well as arrays of pixel data, it contains lots of other information.

So how do you open a FITS to see your image? You need to use special software or applications designed to read FITS files.

When Go Observing was being developed, it was decided that the freely available image-processing software was too complex for use in schools. So, we decided to create our own software. This allows you to view and analyse images from the Liverpool Telescope.

LTImage can work with all image data that are in the FITS image format. This means that it can work with images from most professional telescopes around the world.

• Download LTImage
• Our video tutorials will guide you through the process of using LTImage.
• Use our example data files to practise using the software.
• Think something is wrong with your image? - read about some common oddities!