Comparison of Dim Star Detection Algorithms for Star Trackers

In the following study, the dim star detection performance of a baseline detection algorithm with no image processing was compared to a one-dimensional dilation-based top hat algorithm and a two-dimensional white top hat algorithm which utilized two different structuring elements. The subjects of the experiment consisted of 600 synthetically generated images at varying brightness levels containing increasingly dimmer sets of 15 imaged stars. The detected locations of each star were compared to their true generated location to evaluate the total number of true positives, false positives, and false negatives. It was found that both considered detection algorithms produced similar results in terms of true positives, but the two-dimensional white top hat algorithm produced a lower rate of false positives indicating better denoising properties.