| Software for Automatic Detection of Asteroids and Comets CoLiTec |
CoLiTec (CLT) is the software package dedicated for the automatic discovery of any moving objects such as asteroids, comets, space debris and so on.
The first project carried on by the group yielded the first (on the territory of CIS) automatic discovery of an asteroid (May 2010), done by observers from Andrushivka astronomical observatory. 35 asteroids have been discovered despite the bad astronomic weather within this observatory (April 12, 2011) using the present software. The software is under continual refinement. For the end of 2010 the present software was used by 3 CIS observatories.
Since November 27, 2010 ÑoLiTec (ÑLT) has been successfully used by Russian remotely ISON-NM observatory (Mayhill, New Mexico, USA) within its project dedicated to the observation and cataloging of space debris ISON (International Scientific Optical Network), managed by Igor Molotov. More than 300 asteroids have been discovered in this observatory using the present software (dedication to the 50th anniversary of the first human’s flight in space April 12, 2011)
December 10, 2010 – Leonid Elenin (Russian astronomer, scientific associate of Keldysh Institute of applied mathematics, ISON-NM leading asteroids’ observer) discovered the comet C/2010 X1 (Elenin) using ÑoLiTec. That was the first discovery made by a Russian astronomer for the last 20 years. The Comet Elenin is moving in ecliptic plane and in October 2011 will be so close to the Earth that it will be for some time visible to the naked eye. As a result the Comet Elenin was widely discussed in the international media.
By the end of 2011 the present astrosoft will be able to discover asteroids approaching the Earth, new stars and supernovas; automatically define tracks of meteors.
The present software is based on the original computational method of light collection that permits to accumulate objects’ signals along the tracks with undefined motion parameters using multivalued coordinates’ transform. Hierarchical implementation of transform stabilizes computational cost of the method.
Software input data:
- preliminary processed frames of astronomic observation in FITS format including readout noises (bias frames), dark current (dark frames) and uneven pixels’ sensitivity of CCD-matrix (flat field frames);
- electronic stellar catalogs USNO A2.0, USNO B1.0, UCAC 3.0, XPM;
- settings for telescope CCD-camera.
Intraframe (primary) processing:
- loading of frames and series of frames with the same area of celestial sphere;
- automatic deletion of defective pixels;
- residual programmed frames’ adjustment using low-cut filter;
- automatic division of frames’ series into subseries;
- frames’ addition with accumulation of signals from moving object (FAMO) – a type of frames’ addition used to increase signal/noise ratio (SNR) of signals from objects with unknown velocity of apparent motion;
- formation and saving of total frames obtained with FAMO;
- marking the signals of celestial objects on the frames;
- evaluation of celestial objects’ coordinates (fitting) with compensation of residual background’s flat substrate;
- making marks from selected objects.
Objects’ identification:
- forming of inner catalog of objects that are motionless on the series of observation;
- automatic identification of a sum of frames’ marks and inner catalog of motionless objects from series of observation with a stellar catalog;
- automatic identification of asteroids’ tracks detected by the present software and known by MPC.
Astrometric and photometric frames’ reduction:
- access to electronic stellar catalogs (USNO A2.0, USNO B1.0, UCAC 3.0 or XPM);
- astrometric reduction of one out of three models of plate constants (linear, quadratic and cubic);
- photometric reduction done through stellar catalogs USNO B1.0 or XPM.
Astrometric and photometric reduction assures accuracy that meets MPC requirements.
Interframe processing includes:
- exclusion of inner catalog of objects’ with zero apparent motion’s marks from interframe processing;
- asteroids’ detection by original algorithm of moving objects’ detection;
- manual rejection of automatically detected asteroids; creation of MPC-report based on processing results.
Functions of built-in browser:
- receiving data from MPC site about known asteroids and comets within the frames’ series range of vision;
- comparison of formed measurements (marks) with MPC database; identification of known objects; decision-making as for the new objects’ detection;
- NEO-rating receiving of detected objects;
- coordinates’ determination of the frames’ center viewing field according to numbers and names of asteroids written in their titles;
- creation of three similar MPC-reports based on results of processing series of frames for numbered, unnumbered and unknown asteroids (such reports can be made for each series and for all processed areas together).
Visualization:
- review of initial and total files, formed and saved during FAMO;
- display of detected objects, their marks, all marks of interframe processing, objects known by MPC.
Software characteristics:
- creation of a log-file, containing output data through all stages and permitting to localize deficient and problem procedures of data processing;
- automatic batch processing of all studying series of observation and results’ display;
- paralleling of computings into independent processes according to the quantity of processor’s cores.
The software is divided into different executable modules which are connected through files. It represents the ideology of open architecture and permits to use independently created software at each stage of processing.
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