New Python and IDL libraries for SRS optical data

June 21, 2024

We are excited to announce the v1.0 release of PyAuroraX and IDL-AuroraX - our software libraries supporting data access and analysis support of UCalgary SRS optical instruments (THEMIS ASI, REGO, TREx RGB, TREx NIR, TREx Blue). These libraries also provide the ability to utilize the TREx Auroral Transport Model (ATM), designed by UCalgary. Both libraries are available now and provide full feature parity across Python and IDL.

What you can do

These libraries bring decades of analysis methods used by our SRS team directly to the community. With PyAuroraX and IDL-AuroraX, you can:

• Download data from our archive programmatically
• Generate summary data products such as keograms and montages
• Create timelapse movies from all-sky imager data
• Generate mosaics where data from multiple optical instruments are stitched together onto a geographic map, supporting both single-network and multi-network configurations
• Use the TREx Auroral Transport Model (ATM) v1.0 for auroral analysis

Example gallery

We have published an extensive example gallery on data.phys.ucalgary.ca demonstrating all of the functionality available in both libraries. These 'Crib Sheets' cover everything from basic data downloading to advanced mosaic generation, and are a great starting point for new users.

Getting started

Visit the crib sheets (Python, IDL) on our Open Science Platform for detailed usage guides and code examples. Navigate to the Github repositories for installation instructions.