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Recently, I try to use IRAF to process the 2MASS data. The data format is binary, namely, it is .bin.And I try transform .bin data into IRAF image format, but it doesn't work.
Can IRAF process this kind of data? And how?It is very important to me. Thanks a lot!

Hello Jay; What's important here is not the filename or the extension but the
internal structure of the file. IRAF takes FITS files among other file
types. If you can convert the binary files into a FITS file then you are ready.Please provide more details on the structure of your bin file.Cheers
Nelson Zarate

Hi, zarate
Thank you. But I do not know the structure of the file cause the data is from my teacher and I am not good at computer things.
How can I know the structure of the file?Thanks again!

Jay,It might help if you could post some more information about where you got the .bin file. I know 2MASS has image services that provide FITS files directly, if you could tell me how/where you got the .bin I can say whether these can be converted. We don't have a native reader, for anything else you'd need to know the structure of the file.Cheers,
-Mike

Hi, fitzI got the .bin file from a ftp of IPAC(http://www.ipac.caltech.edu/2mass/) which has been shut down. The whole date file includes three types of data, there are .hb, .hb2 and .bin. I guess .hb or .hb2 is the header of .bin file, but I have no idea how to process these files.This is the information of the .bin file as much as I know.Can IRAF process these data? Or how can I get FITS files of 2MASS, maybe they can make my work easier.Thanks a lot!

Jay,As near as I can tell the .bin/.hb2 format is some sort of binary catalog format used by 2mass and not image data. I couldn't find and more information about it but you may be better of contacting the IRSA help desk with questions ( http://irsa.ipac.caltech.edu/cgi-bin/Helpdesk/nph-genTicketForm ). Your teacher should also have some ideas of what they're expecting you to do with the data, all I can say for sure is that IRAF won't read it as-is.Cheers,
-Mike

fitz,I will ask IRSA for help, I hope it can work.
And thans you very much.

Jay