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Flexible Image Transport System
File type: Graphics file
A fits file extension is associated with the Flexible Image Transport System a standard format for astronomy images. Ae fits file stores picture image.
File type category:
Graphics file
Date updated: June 23, 2025
The fits file extension is used for Flexible Image Transport System format, a most commonly used standard format for images used in astronomy. Historically, magnetic tape was the original storage medium for FITS formats.
FITS is a digital file format used to store, transmit, and manipulate scientific and other images, specially in Astronomy. A major feature of the FITS format is that image metadata is stored in a human-readable ASCII header, so that an interested user can examine the headers to investigate a file of unknown provenance.
FITS is also often used to store non-image data, such as spectra, photon lists, data cubes, or even structured data such as multi-table databases. A FITS file may contain several extensions, and each of these may contain a data object. For example, it is possible to store x-ray and infrared exposures in the same file.
This file format also sometimes uses FTS file extension or FIT file extension.
There are also some specialized FITS viewers that can open .fits files.
Some image viewers such as GIMP, Photoshop, XnView and IrfanView can generally read simple *.fits images, however are not able to interpret more complex files.
Specialized viewers AVIS - FITS Viewer can convert .fits images to common bitmap files.
Software applications that can open fits files:
Microsoft Windows
Multiplatform
Software applications that can edit fits files:
Multiplatform
Software capable of saving fits files:
Microsoft Windows
Software apps that convert fits files:
Multiplatform
On-line services
Software apps that import fits files:
Microsoft Windows
Multiplatform
Software apps that export fits files:
Microsoft Windows
Software apps that print fits files:
Multiplatform
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