Photutils - Astronomical Photometry Photutils is the modern standard for extracting quantitative data from astronomical images. It replaces legacy tools like SExtractor or DAOPHOT with a modular, Pythonic interface integrated with the Astropy ecosystem. When to Use - Detecting stars or galaxies in an astronomical image (DAOStarFinder, IRAFStarFinder). - Measuring the brightness of objects using circular, elliptical, or rectangular apertures. - Performing PSF-fitting photometry (essential for crowded stellar fields). - Estimating and subtracting complex 2D backgrounds (sky background). - Calcu…