🌌 VLBIFiles.jl

A comprehensive Julia package for reading and writing various data formats commonly used in Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI).

🔍 Overview

VLBIFiles.jl provides a unified interface for handling diverse file formats used in VLBI astronomy. The package features automatic format detection and offers flexible data representations tailored to different analysis workflows.

📊 Supported Data Types

📷 Images

Astronomical images represented as KeyedArrays from AxisKeys.jl:

• FITS files: ✅ Read, ✅ Write

📡 Visibilities

Complex interferometric visibility data with multiple representation options:

• UVFITS files: ✅ Read, ❌ Write
• FITS-IDI files: 🟡 Read (partial support), ❌ Write

🔭 Source Models

Parametric astronomical source models powered by InterferometricModels.jl:

• Difmap model files: ✅ Read, ✅ Write
• CLEAN components (embedded in FITS images): ✅ Read, ❌ Write

🚀 Quick Start

using VLBIFiles

# 🎯 Automatic format detection and loading
data = VLBI.load("your_data_file")

# 🎛️ Specify output data type explicitly
image = VLBI.load(KeyedArray, "image.fits")           # Load as image
uvdata = VLBI.load(VLBI.UVData, "visibilities.uvf")   # Load as UV data structure
model = VLBI.load(MultiComponentModel, "source.mod")  # Load as source model
clean_model = VLBI.load(MultiComponentModel, "clean_image.fits")  # Extract CLEAN model

# 📋 Convert visibilities to table format for analysis
uv_table = VLBI.load("visibilities.uvfits") |> uvtable

📚 Documentation & Examples

For more comprehensive documentation and usage examples, explore the Pluto notebook.

Note

📜 Package Evolution: This package was originally named VLBIData.jl. In 2025, VLBIData.jl was refocused exclusively on data structure definitions and visibility calculations, while its file I/O functionality was moved to VLBIFiles.jl. For continuity, VLBIFiles.jl continues the VLBIData versioning sequence starting from v0.3.32.