primus data reduction

Burles came to NYU for the day and he, Blanton, and I discussed data reduction issues. We are evolving to a data modeling approach for the extremely non-trivial, low-resolution, nonlinear-dispersion spectral data we are taking; that is, we are building a two-dimensional model of each frame. What is usually thought of in astronomy as the extracted spectrum is—in this context—just parameters in that model. When I say the words we are, I really mean Burles is. Beautiful stuff! Maybe someday soon our 140,000 (or so) spectra will yield redshifts?