Modernizing radiospectra: A Coordinate-Aware and Interoperable Spectral Data Framework

Current radiospectra stores spectral data as plain NumPy arrays with each instrument client handling metadata, axis ordering and coordinate conversions differently. This leads to inconsistencies and requires users to write boilerplate code for common tasks such as slicing by time or frequency, performing background subtraction and working with physical coordinates. It also limits integration with SunPy's coordinate-aware ecosystem like NDCube and WCS. This project proposes developing a single Spectra class that provides a consistent, high-level interface for radio spectrogram data. The class will support intuitive slicing using physical coordinates, built-in background subtraction and simplified visualisation while abstracting underlying array complexities. The project will explore integrating NDCube or alternative approaches such as xarray or a custom WCS layer to ensure the best fit. The goal is to make radiospectra as user-friendly and consistent as sunpy.map, improving usability and interoperability across the SunPy ecosystem.