Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement Series

Free access article

SExtractor: Software for source extraction DOI: 10.1051/aas:1996164

Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement Series, Vol. 117, June I 1996, 393-404

SExtractor: Software for source extraction

E. Bertin and S. Arnouts

Send offprint requests to: bertin@iap.fr

Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, 98bis Boulevard Arago, 75014 Paris, France
European Southern Observatory, Casilla 19001, Santiago 19, Chile

Received July 18; accepted August 17, 1995

Abstract:

We present the automated techniques we have developed for new software that optimally detects, deblends, measures and classifies sources from astronomical images: SExtractor (Source Extractor). We show that a very reliable star/galaxy separation can be achieved on most images using a neural network trained with simulated images. Salient features of SExtractor include its ability to work on very large images, with minimal human intervention, and to deal with a wide variety of object shapes and magnitudes. It is therefore particularly suited to the analysis of large extragalactic surveys.

Key words: methods: data analysis --- techniques: image processing --- galaxies: photometry

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