IRAF is the "
Image Reduction and
Analysis Facility". The main IRAF distribution includes a good selection of
programs for general
image processing and
graphics, plus a large number of programs for the reduction and analysis of optical and IR
astronomy data.
Other external or layered packages are available for applications such as data acquisition or handling data from other observatories and
wavelength regimes such as the
Hubble Space Telescope (optical), EUVE (extreme ultra-violet), or
ROSAT and
AXAF (X-ray). These external packages are distributed separately from the main IRAF distribution but can be easily installed. The IRAF system also includes a complete programming environment for
scientific applications, which includes a programmable Command Language scripting facility, the IMFORT
Fortran/
C programming interface, and the full SPP/VOS programming environment in which the portable IRAF system and all applications are written.
This is a cut and paste
from the IRAF homepage, basically because they
explain what it is better than i can.
IRAF is freely available, but you proably
don't want to use it unless
you are doing astronomy in which case
you proabaly already have it.
IRAF has a command line interface which obeys
some UNIX commands but not others,
just to be paticullarly confusing.
For more information have a look at their hompage
http://iraf.noao.edu/