A common problem with processing FITS images is determining the quality of FITS images you want to include in a stack of FITS images. To determine whether a FITS file is usable, you have to open it and then stretch it to be able to see the contents of the FITS file on your screen – this can be a time-consuming process. While software like DeepSkyStacker includes the capability to review your images before stacking, you need to save your file listing using the DSS format. Using this method, you can review each image and move rejected images to another folder thereby ending up with a folder of only good images.

QuickLook along with the QuickLook.Plugin.FitsViewer plugin makes it easy to preview FITS files using Windows Explorer: you simply select the FITS file you want to preview, press the space key on your keyboard, and QuickLook displays the stretched FITS file on your screen. You can even hop from one file to another in Windows Explorer and FitsViewer will display the corresponding file.

This is a screenshot showing what the preview window looks like when previewing an image of the Tarantula Nebula:

In this example, the FITS files are on the left in Windows Explorer and the preview window is on the right. You can simply select another file from Windows Explorer and the preview window will update to show you that file.

Overview of Installation

The installation process requires two steps:

  1. Install QuickLook
  2. Install the QuickLook.Plugin.FitsViewer plugin

The sections that follow explain each of the steps in detail; however, if you prefer to watch a video, play the following YouTube video:

Installing QuickLook

QuickLook is available from the Microsoft Store – click the following link for installation from the Microsoft Store:

https://www.microsoft.com/store/apps/9nv4bs3l1h4s?ocid=badge

Alternately, you can download QuickLook from the GitHub releases page here:

https://github.com/QL-Win/QuickLook/releases

Use the MSI installer for the best experience.

Once you have QuickLook installed, it runs in your system tray and you can stop it from there.

Installing the QuickLook.Plugin.FitsViewer Plugin

Use the following directions to install the FitsViewer plugin:

  1. Navigate to the following page:

    https://github.com/siyu6974/QuickLook.Plugin.FitsViewer/releases/
  2. Download the file QuickLook.Plugin.FitsViewer.qlplugin
  3. Using Windows Explorer, locate the file you just downloaded and press the space bar on your keyboard
  4. Select “Click here to install this plugin” from the window that pops-up
  5. Exit/Quit QuickLook from your Windows system tray
  6. Run QuickLook from your Start menu
  7. Preview a FITS file by selecting it in Windows Explorer and then press the space bar on your keyboard

Conclusion

In this article, you learned about the QuickLook.Plugin.FitsViewer QuickLook plugin and learned how to install it on your Windows system.