Euclid: Identification of asteroid streaks in simulated images using deep learning^★

¹ Department of Physics, PO Box 64, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
e-mail: mikko.pontinen@helsinki.fi
² Division of Space Technology, Luleå University of Technology, Box 848, 98128 Kiruna, Sweden
³ Department of Mathematics and Physics E. De Giorgi, University of Salento, Via per Arnesano, CP-I93, 73100 Lecce, Italy
⁴ INAF-Sezione di Lecce, c/o Dipartimento Matematica e Fisica, Via per Arnesano, 73100 Lecce, Italy
⁵ INFN, Sezione di Lecce, Via per Arnesano, CP-193, 73100 Lecce, Italy
⁶ European Space Agency/ESRIN, Largo Galileo Galilei 1, 00044 Frascati, Roma, Italy
⁷ ESAC/ESA, Camino Bajo del Castillo, s/n, Urb. Villafranca del Castillo, 28692 Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain
⁸ Université Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Laboratoire Lagrange, Bd de l’Observatoire, CS 34229, 06304 Nice Cedex 4, France
⁹ Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik, Karl-Schwarzschild Str. 1, 85741 Garching, Germany
¹⁰ Departement of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, Canada
¹¹ Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Institut d’astrophysique spatiale, 91405 Orsay, France
¹² Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 3FX, UK
¹³ Institut für Theoretische Physik, University of Heidelberg, Philosophenweg 16, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
¹⁴ INAF-Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio di Bologna, Via Piero Gobetti 93/3, 40129 Bologna, Italy
¹⁵ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “Augusto Righi” – Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, via Piero Gobetti 93/2, 40129 Bologna, Italy
¹⁶ INFN-Sezione di Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40127 Bologna, Italy
¹⁷ INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino, Via Osservatorio 20, 10025 Pino Torinese (TO), Italy
¹⁸ Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146 Genova, Italy
¹⁹ INFN-Sezione di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146 Genova, Italy
²⁰ Department of Physics “E. Pancini”, University Federico II, Via Cinthia 6, 80126 Napoli, Italy
²¹ INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte, Via Moiariello 16, 80131 Napoli, Italy
²² Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via P. Giuria 1, 10125 Torino, Italy
²³ INFN-Sezione di Torino, Via P. Giuria 1, 10125 Torino, Italy
²⁴ INAF-IASF Milano, Via Alfonso Corti 12, 20133 Milano, Italy
²⁵ Institut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain
²⁶ Port d’Informació Científica, Campus UAB, C. Albareda s/n, 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain
²⁷ INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Via Frascati 33, 00078 Monteporzio Catone, Italy
²⁸ INFN section of Naples, Via Cinthia 6, 80126 Napoli, Italy
²⁹ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “Augusto Righi” – Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40127 Bologna, Italy
³⁰ Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales – Centre spatial de Toulouse, 18 avenue Edouard Belin, 31401 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
³¹ Institut national de physique nucléaire et de physique des particules, 3 rue Michel-Ange, 75794 Paris Cedex 16, France
³² Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ, UK
³³ University of Lyon, Univ. Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS/IN2P3, IP2I Lyon, UMR 5822, 69622 Villeurbanne, France
³⁴ Institute of Physics, Laboratory of Astrophysics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Observatoire de Sauverny, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland
³⁵ Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St Mary, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6NT, UK
³⁶ Departamento de Física, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Edifício C8, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
³⁷ Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
³⁸ Department of Astronomy, University of Geneva, ch. d’Ecogia 16, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland
³⁹ INFN-Padova, Via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova, Italy
⁴⁰ Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris Cité, CEA, CNRS, Astrophysique, Instrumentation et Modélisation Paris-Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
⁴¹ INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste, Via G. B. Tiepolo 11, 34143 Trieste, Italy
⁴² Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS/IN2P3, CPPM, Marseille, France
⁴³ INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, Via dell’Osservatorio 5, 35122 Padova, Italy
⁴⁴ Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo, PO Box 1029 Blindern, 0315 Oslo, Norway
⁴⁵ Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA, 91109, USA
⁴⁶ von Hoerner & Sulger GmbH, SchloßPlatz 8, 68723 Schwetzingen, Germany
⁴⁷ Technical University of Denmark, Elektrovej 327, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
⁴⁸ Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN), Denmark
⁴⁹ Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
⁵⁰ Universitäts-Sternwarte München, Fakultät für Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Scheinerstrasse 1, 81679 München, Germany
⁵¹ Université de Genève, Département de Physique Théorique and Centre for Astroparticle Physics, 24 quai Ernest-Ansermet, 1211 Genève 4, Switzerland
⁵² Helsinki Institute of Physics, Gustaf Hällströmin katu 2, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
⁵³ NOVA optical infrared instrumentation group at ASTRON, Oude Hoogeveensedijk 4, 7991PD Dwingeloo, The Netherlands
⁵⁴ Universität Bonn, Argelander-Institut für Astronomie, Auf dem Hügel 71, 53121 Bonn, Germany
⁵⁵ Department of Physics, Institute for Computational Cosmology, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
⁵⁶ Université Paris Cité, CNRS, Astroparticule et Cosmologie, 75013 Paris, France
⁵⁷ University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Northwestern Switzerland, School of Engineering, 5210 Windisch, Switzerland
⁵⁸ Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, 98bis Boulevard Arago, 75014 Paris, France
⁵⁹ Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, UMR 7095, CNRS, and Sorbonne Université, 98 bis boulevard Arago, 75014 Paris, France
⁶⁰ CEA Saclay, DFR/IRFU, Service d’Astrophysique, Bât. 709, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
⁶¹ European Space Agency/ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, 2201 AZ Noordwijk, The Netherlands
⁶² Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen, PO Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands
⁶³ Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, Niels Bohrweg 2, 2333 CA Leiden, The Netherlands
⁶⁴ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Aarhus, Ny Munkegade 120, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
⁶⁵ Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris Cité, CEA, CNRS, AIM, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
⁶⁶ Space Science Data Center, Italian Space Agency, via del Politecnico snc, 00133 Roma, Italy
⁶⁷ Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Giessenbachstr. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
⁶⁸ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “G. Galilei”, Università di Padova, Via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova, Italy
⁶⁹ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Bologna, Via Gobetti 93/2, 40129 Bologna, Italy
⁷⁰ Departamento de Física, FCFM, Universidad de Chile, Blanco Encalada 2008, Santiago, Chile
⁷¹ Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), Carrer Gran Capitá 2–4, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
⁷² Institut de Ciencies de l’Espai (IEEC-CSIC), Campus UAB, Carrer de Can Magrans, s/n Cerdanyola del Vallés, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
⁷³ Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), Avenida Complutense 40, 28040 Madrid, Spain
⁷⁴ Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-018 Lisboa, Portugal
⁷⁵ Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Departamento de Electrónica y Tecnología de Computadoras, Plaza del Hospital 1, 30202 Cartagena, Spain
⁷⁶ Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, CNES, 14 Av. Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France
⁷⁷ INFN-Bologna, Via Irnerio 46, 40126 Bologna, Italy
⁷⁸ Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
⁷⁹ Junia, EPA department, 41 Bd Vauban, 59800 Lille, France

Received: 24 July 2023
Accepted: 25 September 2023

Abstract

The material composition of asteroids is an essential piece of knowledge in the quest to understand the formation and evolution of the Solar System. Visual to near-infrared spectra or multiband photometry is required to constrain the material composition of asteroids, but we currently have such data, especially in the near-infrared wavelengths, for only a limited number of asteroids. This is a significant limitation considering the complex orbital structures of the asteroid populations. Up to 150 000 asteroids will be visible in the images of the upcoming ESA Euclid space telescope, and the instruments of Euclid will offer multiband visual to near-infrared photometry and slitless near-infrared spectra of these objects. Most of the asteroids will appear as streaks in the images. Due to the large number of images and asteroids, automated detection methods are needed. A non-machine-learning approach based on the Streak Det software was previously tested, but the results were not optimal for short and/or faint streaks. We set out to improve the capability to detect asteroid streaks in Euclid images by using deep learning. We built, trained, and tested a three-step machine-learning pipeline with simulated Euclid images. First, a convolutional neural network (CNN) detected streaks and their coordinates in full images, aiming to maximize the completeness (recall) of detections. Then, a recurrent neural network (RNN) merged snippets of long streaks detected in several parts by the CNN. Lastly, gradient-boosted trees (XGBoost) linked detected streaks between different Euclid exposures to reduce the number of false positives and improve the purity (precision) of the sample. The deep-learning pipeline surpasses the completeness and reaches a similar level of purity of a non-machine-learning pipeline based on the StreakDet software. Additionally, the deep-learning pipeline can detect asteroids 0.25–0.5 magnitudes fainter than StreakDet. The deep-learning pipeline could result in a 50% increase in the number of detected asteroids compared to the StreakDet software. There is still scope for further refinement, particularly in improving the accuracy of streak coordinates and enhancing the completeness of the final stage of the pipeline, which involves linking detections across multiple exposures.