For the last several decades, observatories have enjoyed a convenient alignment between the data visualization needs of scientific researchers and observatory staff, largely through the development and widespread adoption of SAOImage/DS9 and IRAF. However, as the astronomy community at large orients itself towards a future of larger and larger datasets fed by ELTs and massive TDA surveys, the tools astronomers use to visualize data are increasingly oriented towards browser and notebook based UIs (e.g. jdaviz from the Space Telescope Science Institute or LSST’s Rubin Science Platform), and away from the stand-alone applications that frequently populate the screens found in our observatory control rooms. While these tools may be of great utility to researchers, they often fail to fulfill the needs of observatory operators in terms of legacy support, customizability, and their ability to be run within VNC sessions. The tools used by observatory staff (such as the Ginga FITS viewing toolkit or DS9) generally do not receive nearly as much attention or investment as the new browser-based programs.

In this BOF session, we will discuss and record what software tools and/or programs observatory developers are using for their operational needs (such as data readouts or quick-look analysis), what concerns developers have about those tools, and finally whether any coordinated action is needed to ensure that observatories have access to modern and reliable FITS data viewers in the future.