# Fips: an OpenGL based FITS viewer

## TL;DR

Fips is an open-source, cross-platform FITS viewer that leverages GPU-accelerated OpenGL rendering to enable efficient visual inspection of astronomical data, marking a novel use of GPU technology in FITS visualization.

## Contribution

This paper introduces Fips, the first FITS viewer primarily implemented on GPU using OpenGL, enhancing image rendering efficiency for astronomical data inspection.

## Key findings

- GPU-based rendering improves performance
- Fips is cross-platform and open source
- Demonstrates effective use of GPU in FITS visualization

## Abstract

FITS (Flexible Image Transport System) is a common format for astronomical data storage. It was first standardised in the early 1980s. Even though astronomical data is now processed mostly using software, visual data inspection by a human is still important during equipment or software commissioning and while observing. We present Fips, a cross-platform FITS file viewer open source software. To the best of our knowledge, it is for the first time that the image rendering algorithms are implemented mostly on GPU (graphics processing unit). We show that it is possible to implement a fully-capable FITS viewer using OpenGL interface. We also emphasise the advantages of using GPUs for efficient image handling.