Update: the solution is here: Kapteyn
Update 2: there is also a new package that I have not tested, but that seems to be good: APLpy
Update 3: and now there is also: pywcsgrid2

You might want to look at the following site for more up to date information: astropython

Python is a good language for scientists. It basically replaces proprietary software like IDL, Matlab or SAS. What it lacks at the moment is an easy way to display astronomical data saved as fits files containing WCS information.
WCS information standardizes the transformation between pixel coordinates and world coordinates (e.g. position in the sky). There is a good library, pywcs, that deals with this information. Matplotlib, a good choice for plotting data with python, includes Basemap, a toolkit to display maps (of the earth) in various projections. What is missing is a link between these two!

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What kinds of projections are supplied by basemap and wcs?

Basemap name	FITS Code WCS	Names
		AZP	Zenithal perspective
		SZP	Slant zenithal perspective
Gnomonic Projection	TAN	Gnomonic
Stereographic Projection	STG	Stereographic
	SIN	Slant orthographic
	ARC	Zenithal equidistant
	ZPN	Zenithal polynomial
Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area Projection	ZEA	Zenithal equal area
	AIR	Airy
	CYP	Cylindrical perspective
	CEA	Cylindrical equal area
Cassini Projection	CAR transverse case
	CAR	Plate carree
Miller Cylindrical Projection	CAR with unequal scaling
Mercator Projection	MER	Mercator
Transverse Mercator Projection	MER transverse case
Oblique Mercator Projection
Equidistant Cylindrical Projection
Sinusoidal Projection	SFL	Sanson-Flamsteed
	PAR	Parabolic
Mollweide Projection	MOL	Mollweide
	AIT	Hammer-Aitoff
	COP	Conic perspective
Albers Equal Area Projection	COE	Conic equal-area
Equidistant Conic Projection	COD	Conic equidistant
	COO	Comic orthomorphic
Lambert Conformal Projection for sperical earth = COO
	BON	Bonne's equal area
Polyconic Projection	PCO	Polyconic
	TSC	Tangential Sperical Cube
	CSC	COBE Quadrilateralized Spherical Cube
	QSC	Quadrilateralized Spherical Cube
Azimuthal Equidistant Projection
Orthographic Projection
Geostationary Projection
Robinson Projection
Gall Stereographic Projection
Polar Stereographic Projection
Polar Lambert Azimuthal Projection
Polar Azimuthal Equidistant Projection
McBryde-Thomas Flat Polar Quartic
van der Grinten Projection

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