LAUSR

Abstract This paper presents an algorithm to detect very faint object streaks on CCD images acquired with an optical system. The proposed detection method uses image filters simulating the geometrical form and orientation of possible streaks on the CCD image. The method searches for a matching between streak and filter evaluating the convolutions of the image with all possible filters. Based on the statistics of the image background a threshold is applied in order to accept, respectively reject, the possible streak candidates. The detection probabilities and the effect of different parameter settings are estimated with tests on simulated images, while subframes of real images are used to evaluate the applicability of the algorithm to real cases. The detection probability of this method depends on the length and on the signal-to-noise ratio of the streak. For long streaks, a detection for signal-to-noise values around 0.5 is achieved. The further characterization of the detected streak (e.g. centroid and length), which is not performed in the current algorithm, and the reduction of the computation time, which is relatively high for full acquired frames, as well as possible improvements are briefly addressed.