Celebrating SAOImageDS9
In this talk we will recognize SAOImageDS9 (DS9) and its creators William Joye and Eric Mandel for their vital role in astronomy and visualization. We will start with a brief history of DS9 and its predecessors. We will review some impressive metrics that demonstrate the breadth of DS9 usage and showcase some unexpected, yet wholly remarkable, applications of DS9. (Did you know DS9 was used to support Covid-19 research?) Along the way we will provide some little know facts and helpful tips that can change the way users interact with the application. Finally we will discuss current work on DS9 and discuss the uncertain prospects for future development.