A raster data structure is based on a (usually rectangular, square-based) tessellation of the 2D plane into cells, each containing a single value. Most computer images are stored in raster graphics formats or compressed variations, including GIF, JPEG, and PNG, which are popular on the World Wide Web. Using a raster to summarize a point pattern. Rubin Observatory captures 3.2 gigapixels in a single image (6.4 GB raw), over six color channels which exceed the spectral range of human color vision.Īpplications Image storage The digital sensors used for remote sensing and astronomy are often able to detect and store wavelengths beyond the visible spectrum the large CCD bitmapped sensor at the Vera C. Most modern color raster formats represent color using 24 bits (over 16 million distinct colors), 8 each (0-255) for red, green, and blue.
Common pixel formats are binary, gray scale, palettized, and full color, where color depth determines the fidelity of the colors represented and color space determines the range of color coverage (which is often less than the full range of human color vision). Each raster grid has a specified pixel format, the data type for each number. For most images, this value is a visible color, but other measurements are possible, even numeric codes for qualitative categories. The size of each square pixel, known as the resolution or support, is constant across the grid.Ī single numeric value is then stored for each pixel. In digital photography, the plane is the Visual field as projected onto the CCD sensor in computer art, the plane is a virtual canvas in Geographic information systems, the plane is a projection of the Earth's surface. The fundamental strategy underlying the raster model is the tessellation of a plane, into a two dimensional array of squares, each called a cell or pixel (from "picture element").