Using Deep Learning to Identify Artificial Satellite Trails in Multi-band Photometric Astronomical Images

This research addresses the growing challenge of artificial satellite trail interference in ground-based astronomical observations by developing an efficient deep learning identification method. With the proliferation of satellite constellations in low Earth orbit, accurate detection of satellite trails has become crucial for preserving astronomical data quality. Using multi-band photometric survey observational data from the $Multi-channel$ $Photometric$ $Survey$ $Telescope$ (Mephisto) of Yunnan University , we constructed a specialized dataset of astronomical images containing satellite trails. We propose a novel ASA-U-Net model that integrates atrous spatial pyramid pooling with channel attention mechanisms into the U-Net architecture to effectively capture sparse satellite trail features that traditional semantic segmentation models often miss during downsampling. The model was implemented and validated on actual telescope data, demonstrating superior performance in end-to-end detection and marking of satellite trails compared to traditional methods. This approach significantly improves data processing precision without requiring manual parameter adjustments, making it suitable for processing massive nightly survey data and enhancing the quality of astronomical data products.

Publication Details

Journal
ArXiv.org
Published
2025-09-04
Primary Topic
Geochemistry and Geologic Mapping
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Using Deep Learning to Identify Artificial Satellite Trails in Multi-band Photometric Astronomical Images

ArXiv.org
Geochemistry and Geologic Mapping
article

Using Deep Learning to Identify Artificial Satellite Trails in Multi-band Photometric Astronomical Images

article en

Abstract

This research addresses the growing challenge of artificial satellite trail interference in ground-based astronomical observations by developing an efficient deep learning identification method. With the proliferation of satellite constellations in low Earth orbit, accurate detection of satellite trails has become crucial for preserving astronomical data quality. Using multi-band photometric survey observational data from the $Multi-channel$ $Photometric$ $Survey$ $Telescope$ (Mephisto) of Yunnan University , we constructed a specialized dataset of astronomical images containing satellite trails. We propose a novel ASA-U-Net model that integrates atrous spatial pyramid pooling with channel attention mechanisms into the U-Net architecture to effectively capture sparse satellite trail features that traditional semantic segmentation models often miss during downsampling. The model was implemented and validated on actual telescope data, demonstrating superior performance in end-to-end detection and marking of satellite trails compared to traditional methods. This approach significantly improves data processing precision without requiring manual parameter adjustments, making it suitable for processing massive nightly survey data and enhancing the quality of astronomical data products.

ArXiv.org
Openalex Percentile: Top 51%
Geochemistry and Geologic Mapping
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.

Using Deep Learning to Identify Artificial Satellite Trails in Multi-band Photometric Astronomical Images · ArXiv.org (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS