Sensors 2010, 10(3), 1743-1752; doi:10.3390/s100301743
Article

Improving the Ability of Image Sensors to Detect Faint Stars and Moving Objects Using Image Deconvolution Techniques

Octavi Fors 1,2,* email, Jorge Núñez 1,2 email, Xavier Otazu 3 email, Albert Prades 4 email and Robert D. Cardinal 5 email
1 Departament d'Astronomia i Meteorologia and Institut de Ciències del Cosmos (ICC), Universitat de Barcelona (UB/IEEC), Av. Diagonal 647, 08028 Barcelona, Spain 2 Observatori Fabra, Barcelona, Spain 3 Computer Vision Center, Computer Science Department, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Campus UAB, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Barcelona, Spain 4 Departament d’Enginyeria del Terreny, Cartogràfica i Geofísica, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain 5 NEOSSat Mission, Department of Geoscience, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 22 December 2009; in revised form: 25 January 2010 / Accepted: 3 February 2010 / Published: 3 March 2010
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Image Sensors)
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Abstract: In this paper we show how the techniques of image deconvolution can increase the ability of image sensors as, for example, CCD imagers, to detect faint stars or faint orbital objects (small satellites and space debris). In the case of faint stars, we show that this benefit is equivalent to double the quantum efficiency of the used image sensor or to increase the effective telescope aperture by more than 30% without decreasing the astrometric precision or introducing artificial bias. In the case of orbital objects, the deconvolution technique can double the signal-to-noise ratio of the image, which helps to discover and control dangerous objects as space debris or lost satellites. The benefits obtained using CCD detectors can be extrapolated to any kind of image sensors.
Keywords: image processing; image deconvolution; faint stars; space debris; wavelet transform

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MDPI and ACS Style

Fors, O.; Núñez, J.; Otazu, X.; Prades, A.; Cardinal, R.D. Improving the Ability of Image Sensors to Detect Faint Stars and Moving Objects Using Image Deconvolution Techniques. Sensors 2010, 10, 1743-1752.

AMA Style

Fors O, Núñez J, Otazu X, Prades A, Cardinal RD. Improving the Ability of Image Sensors to Detect Faint Stars and Moving Objects Using Image Deconvolution Techniques. Sensors. 2010; 10(3):1743-1752.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Fors, Octavi; Núñez, Jorge; Otazu, Xavier; Prades, Albert; Cardinal, Robert D. 2010. "Improving the Ability of Image Sensors to Detect Faint Stars and Moving Objects Using Image Deconvolution Techniques." Sensors 10, no. 3: 1743-1752.

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