ASTSCRIPT-SORT-BY-NIGHT(1)

📦
version 0.24 · 5 versions
, in epel 10, epel 9, nixos 26.05, nixpkgs unstable, ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

🌙 ASTSCRIPT-SORT-BY-NIGHT — the astscript-sort-by-night manual page, bestie edition 💖

okay so you're looking at the astscript-sort-by-night page from the User Commands section of the manual. it sorts your FITS files by night. yes really. it's giving astronomer-with-a-calendar energy and honestly? iconic. ✨

✨ NAME ✨

astscript-sort-by-night — Sort input FITS files by night 🗂️🌃

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

astscript-sort-by-night [OPTION] FITS-files

💅 DESCRIPTION 💅

okay bestie, sit down, hydrate, because this is actually so cool. 💖

This script is part of GNU Astronomy Utilities 0.24. no cap.

So here's the vibe: this script will look into a HDU/extension for a header keyword in the given FITS files and interpret the value as a date. then it splits your inputs up into "night"s. what even counts as a "night"? that's the --hour option's whole job, and also — heads up, bestie — the FITS time may be recorded in UTC, not local time, so watch out!! 😭

Then it prints a list of all the input files along with these two columns: night number and file number in that night (sorted by time). obsessed.

With --link a symbolic link (one for each input) will be made, with names that include the night classifier. and with --copy, instead of a link, a copy of the inputs will be made. pick your fighter 🫶

For more information, please run any of the following commands. in particular, the first one contains a very comprehensive explanation of this script's invocation: expected input(s), output(s), and a full description of all the options. (the way that first one carries the whole team fr fr 👑)

Inputs/Outputs and options:

$ info astscript-sort-by-night

Full Gnuastro manual/book:

$ info gnuastro

If you couldn't find your answer in the manual, you can get direct help from experienced Gnuastro users and developers. for more information, please run:

$ info help-gnuastro

🌸 astscript-sort-by-night options: 🌸

🍓 Input:

  • -h, --hdu=STR — HDU/extension of all input FITS files.
  • -k, --key=STR — Header keyword specifying date to use.
  • -H, --hour=FLT — Hour in next day to be included in night. ⚠️ Be aware of time zones with this argument!! like, genuinely, watch those time zones, bestie.

🎀 Output:

  • -l, --link — list of inputs with night and file number.
  • -c, --copy — Copy the files, don't make symbolic links.
  • -p, --prefix=STR — Prefix for outputs of --copy and --link.

🌈 Operating mode:

  • -?, --help — Print this help list.
  • --cite — BibTeX citation for this program.
  • -q, --quiet — Don't print any extra information in stdout.
  • -V, --version — Print program version.
  • --stdintimeout — Micro-seconds to wait for standard input (used for operations within this script).

Mandatory or optional arguments to long options are also mandatory or optional for any corresponding short options. (yes this is the rules, no I did not make them up 💀)

GNU Astronomy Utilities home page: http://www.gnu.org/software/gnuastro/

🙈 REPORTING BUGS 🙈

Report bugs to bug-gnuastro@gnu.org. please be nice, they're doing their best 🫶

Copyright © 2015-2025 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU General public license version 3 or later.

This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law. (read that again, bestie, no warranty, periodt 💀)

Written/developed by Mohammad Akhlaghi — main character energy, truly 🌟

⭐ SEE ALSO ⭐

The full documentation for astscript-sort-by-night is maintained as a Texinfo manual. If the info and astscript-sort-by-night programs are properly installed at your site, the command

info astscript-sort-by-night

should give you access to the complete manual.

GNU Astronomy Utilities 0.24 🦋 November 2025 🎀 that's the version and the date, bestie — mwah, go sort some nights, you got this 💖✨

📦 where this page comes from