diff --git a/drizzle/utils.py b/drizzle/utils.py
index 7ead29a..6ad6656 100644
--- a/drizzle/utils.py
+++ b/drizzle/utils.py
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ def estimate_pixel_scale_ratio(wcs_from, wcs_to, refpix_from=None, refpix_to=Non
     """
     pscale_ratio = (_estimate_pixel_scale(wcs_to, refpix_to) /
                     _estimate_pixel_scale(wcs_from, refpix_from))
-    return pscale_ratio
+    return pscale_ratio.astype("float")
 
 
 def _estimate_pixel_scale(wcs, refpix):
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ def _estimate_pixel_scale(wcs, refpix):
             (l1 - l3) * (np.sin(_DEG2RAD * phi2) - np.sin(_DEG2RAD * phi4))
         )
     )
-    return np.sqrt(area).astype("float")
+    return np.sqrt(area)
 
 
 def decode_context(context, x, y):