The effect of stripes in Cassini-ISS images on photometric precision

Striping of varying intensities can be observed in the astronomical images acquired by the Cassini ISS (Imaging Science Subsystem). The impact of these stripes on photometric measurements remains insufficiently investigated. This paper addresses this issue. Initially, Fourier-based frequency domain processing is applied to remove the stripes from the images. Subsequently, automatic and fixed aperture photometry measure the magnitudes of 5968 stars in 460 pre- and post-stripe-removal ISS images, compared to the standards in the Gaia catalogue. Before stripe removal, the stripes affected fixed photometry by 0.1174 magnitudes and automatic photometry by 0.3783 magnitudes. Finally, comparisons with the stripe removal technique proposed by CICLOPS (Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations) reveal that Fourier processing with fixed photometry improves by ≥0.0087 magnitudes, and automatic photometry improves by ≥0.0130 magnitudes.