SURFACE fits a second-order polynomial surface to the specified image, or to the subset of that image designated by the BOX keyword. It fits to all pixels in the image or box, except those that have the value zero, or those masked with the MASK command. These two features allow you to mark out sections of an image that you do not want included in the fit. Use the command CLIP to set pixels to zero.
For speed, you can have the program find the best-fitting surface using every n-th pixel. Use the PIX keyword for this. For example, if you say PIX=3, the surface is fit to the pixels in columns 0, 3, 6, 9, ... in rows 0, 3, 6, 9...
A polynomial expression for the fit is printed on the output device. These coefficients may be loaded into variables with the LOAD keyword.
The MASK keyword tells SURFACE to ignore masked pixels. Otherwise, all pixels except those that have value zero are included in the FIT.
The NOZERO keyword will force SURFACE to fit all pixels, including those that have value zero. (This word is short for ``NO ZERO CHECKING'').
To fit a planar (instead of a second-order) surface, include the PLANE keyword.
In its normal operation, the program replaces the image with the best-fitting surface. To subtract the surface from the image, use the word SUB. To divide the image by the surface, use the word DIV. The best-fit surface is applied in the manner you specify to EVERY pixel, regardless what the PIX word says.
Examples:
The LOAD keywords load the variables COEFF0, COEFFR, COEFFC, COEFFR2, COEFFC2, COEFFRC, MIDR, MIDC, where the surface that is fit satisfies the equation:
SURFACE = COEFF0 + (ROW - MIDR) * COEFFR
+ (COL - MIDC) * COEFFC
+ (ROW - MIDR)^2 * COEFFR2
+ (COL - MIDC)^2 * COEFFC2
+ (ROW - MIDR) * (COL - MIDC) * COEFFRC
The LOAD keyword is useful for locating the peak of cross-correlations.
See the section CROSS for information.