USGS MIPS Gauss Documentation

USGS MIPS Gauss Documentation

This program applies a Gaussian stretch to an image . That is, it will determine the stretch pairs required to make the histogram normal or have a bell-shaped curve. For example,

        ---            ---
     __/   \          /   \
    /       \        /     \
  --         ---   --       --

    Before            After
    Histogram         Histogram

Files

This program requires as input one unsigned 8-bit image file. If an output file is entered, the image will contain a Gaussian stretch. If an output file is not entered, a stretch file will be added to the input image and the labels will be updated. The stretch can be applied at a later time by using the program APPLYSTR or can be viewed with the restore stretch option in VISTA.

Parameters

EDGE, MIDDLE or FULL: These options are used to select an area where the input histogram is emphazised when applying the Gaussian stretch. The edges, middle, or full histogram can be emphazised by selecting the appropriate parameter. The default is to emphazise the full range of the histogram.
TITLE: This parameter is used to store a title in the stretch file for the stretch pairs required by the histogram equalization stretch. It is only used if an output image is not created.

Uses

Normalizing the histogram creates an equal number of pixels on either side of the DN 127. This is useful for improving the visual appearance of images which are heavily skewed to the dark or bright ends of the histogram.

Examples

From left to right, Landsat MSS Band 6 and image with Gaussian Stretch using FULL option.

[Example Image]