JP2014048932A - Celestial body image processing device, celestial body image processing program and camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a high definition celestial body image.SOLUTION: A celestial body image processing device 100 comprises: specification means 105 that specifies a celestial body included in an image on the basis of comparison of the image with a celestial body search database 105b; determination means 105 that determines a celestial body area having the celestial body shown up in the image and a non-celestial body area having the celestial body not shown up therein on the basis of information on the celestial body search database 105b; correction means 105 that corrects the determined non-celestial body area so as not to be conspicuous; and image synthesis means 105 that synthesizes an image of the determined celestial body area with an image of the post-corrected non-celestial body area.

Description

  The present invention relates to an astronomical image processing apparatus, an astronomical image processing program, and a camera.

  Techniques have been proposed for tracking an astronomical object and photographing it in an apparently stationary state. (See Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

JP 2006-279135 A JP 2012-10324 A

  However, when a landscape such as a house or a tree is captured at the same time, the celestial body is captured in a stationary state, while a stationary object such as a house or a tree is captured intermittently or flowing and is unsightly. There was a problem of becoming an image.

  An astronomical image processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a specifying means for specifying a celestial body included in an image based on a comparison between the image and the celestial object search database, and an astronomical region in which the celestial object is reflected in the image based on information in the celestial object search database. And a discriminating means for discriminating a non-celestial region where the celestial object is not imaged, a correcting means for correcting the discriminated non-celestial region inconspicuously, Image synthesizing means for synthesizing.

  According to the present invention, a high-quality celestial image can be obtained by changing processing between a portion where a celestial object is reflected and a background portion where the celestial object is not.

It is a block diagram which illustrates the principal part structure of the digital camera which performs astronomical object specification by one embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 (a) is a star map in a certain area of the sky reproduced using an astronomical database. FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating the position coordinates of each star illustrated in FIG. FIG. 3 (a) is a star map of a certain area of the sky reproduced using the search database. FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating the length ratio of each side in each triangle composed of three stars among the stars illustrated in FIG. It is a flowchart explaining the flow of the astronomical object identification process which a control circuit performs. It is a flowchart explaining the detail of an image correction process. FIG. 6A illustrates a captured image. FIG. 6B illustrates a bright spot that is not shown. FIG. 7A is a diagram illustrating three bright spots selected in the photographed image. FIG. 7B is a diagram illustrating the length ratio of each side of the triangle formed by the three bright points illustrated in FIG. FIG. 8A is a diagram illustrating three bright spots selected in the photographed image. FIG. 8B is a diagram illustrating the length ratio of each side of the triangle formed by the three bright points illustrated in FIG. FIG. 9A is a diagram for explaining grouping. FIG. 9B is a diagram illustrating after grouping is completed. FIG. 10A is a diagram illustrating a captured image 2 at a time different from that in FIG. FIG. 10B is a diagram illustrating the captured images 3 at different times. FIG. 11A is a diagram for explaining the processing for the “star region”. FIG. 11B is a diagram for explaining processing for the “star-free region”. It is a figure which illustrates a synthesized image. It is a figure which illustrates a computer apparatus.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, a celestial image is taken with a digital camera, a celestial object shown in the image is specified, and correction processing is performed on the celestial image. The celestial object specifying process refers to a process of specifying an celestial object appearing in a captured image by comparing an image obtained by photographing a star in the sky with a database (DB) storing star map data. First, a camera according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to a block diagram illustrated in FIG.

  In FIG. 1, the camera 100 includes an operation member 101, an image sensor 102, a geomagnetic sensor 103, a GPS circuit 104, a control circuit 105, a recording / reproducing unit 106, and a monitor 107. The operation member 101 includes various input members operated by the user, such as a power switch, a release button, a menu button, and the like. The camera 100 is fixed to a tripod (not shown) and performs astronomical photography.

  The image sensor 102 is configured by a CMOS image sensor or the like. The image sensor 102 captures a subject image formed by a photographic lens (not shown) and outputs the obtained image signal to the control circuit 105. The image sensor 102 is formed with R (red), G (green), and B (blue) color filters, and acquires a celestial color image.

  The geomagnetic sensor 103 is composed of, for example, a three-axis magnetic sensor. The control circuit 105 calculates the azimuth (image-capturing azimuth) and elevation angle that the lens of the camera 100 faces based on the magnetic detection signal of each axis component output from the geomagnetic sensor 103. The elevation angle is an angle formed by a straight line indicating the photographing direction and a straight line indicating the horizon direction, and an elevation angle of 90 degrees corresponds to the zenith.

  The GPS circuit 104 receives a radio wave from a GPS satellite (not shown), and performs positioning (latitude, longitude, altitude) calculation for obtaining the position of the camera 100 using information carried on the received signal. In this description, the positioning information obtained by the positioning calculation, the above-described shooting direction, elevation angle information, field angle information of the shooting lens mounted on the camera 100 (lens model name, focal length, etc.), and shooting time information are collectively referred to. This is called observation information.

  The control circuit 105 in the case where the setting for storing the observation information in association with the captured image is performed, the image data including the captured image data and the observation information is generated when the image is captured, and the memory instructed to the recording / reproducing unit 106 The image file is recorded on the card 50. The observation information may be recorded as metadata in a part of the image file, or may be recorded as a separate file from the image file.

  The control circuit 105 includes a memory and other peripheral circuits, and controls a photographing operation performed by the camera 100. The memory constituting the control circuit 105 includes an SDRAM 105a and a flash memory 105b. The SDRAM 105a is a volatile memory, and is used as a work memory for the control circuit 105 to develop a program when the program is executed. The SDRAM 105a is also used as a buffer memory for temporarily storing data. On the other hand, the flash memory 105b is a non-volatile memory and stores a program executed by the control circuit 105, a search database to be described later, and the like.

  The recording / playback unit 106 records an image file on the memory card 50 based on an instruction from the control circuit 105, and reads the image file recorded on the memory card 50. The memory card 50 is a recording medium that is detachably attached to a card slot (not shown). The control circuit 105 reproduces and displays the captured image on the monitor 107 based on the image file read from the memory card 50 by the recording / reproducing unit 106.

  The monitor 107 is a liquid crystal monitor (so-called rear monitor) mounted on the back surface of the camera 100. The monitor 107 displays a playback image based on the image file recorded on the memory card 50, a setting menu for setting the function of the camera 100, and the like. When the user operates the operation member 101 and sets the photographing mode to use the monitor 107, the control circuit 105 outputs image data for display of images acquired in time series from the image sensor 102 to the monitor 107. As a result, a through image can be displayed on the monitor 107.

Next, a database used by the control circuit 105 in the celestial object specifying process will be described.
<Database>
In the present embodiment, a search database is created in advance based on a well-known astronomical database that includes coordinate data indicating the positions of stars, planets, nebulae, etc. in the sky and in which each star is classified by magnitude. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a known celestial database. FIG. 2 (a) is a star map in an area of the sky reproduced using the above celestial database. FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating the position coordinates of each star illustrated in FIG.

  According to the scientific chronology, there are 540,000 stars below the 10th grade in the whole sky, of which 8,600 stars below the 6th grade visible in the dark sky are relatively bright below the 3rd grade. There are 278 stars. For example, the search database created in advance is created by extracting only bright stars of grade 3 or less from the celestial database. In addition to the position coordinates, brightness grade, and hue of each star, the search database includes the length ratio of each side of a triangle composed of three stars included in the search database. When the number of stars is 278, the number of triangles configured by selecting three stars from 278 stars is “278C3”, so the search database is 278 × 277 × 276 / (3 × 2 × 1 ) = The length ratio of each side for 3,542,276 triangles and the position coordinates of 278 stars are stored.

  Note that the position coordinates of the celestial bodies in the search database are expressed in a plane coordinate system (XY coordinate system), and when the known celestial database from which the search database is created is expressed in a polar coordinate system, the above 278 A search database is created after converting the position of the star to be expressed in a plane coordinate system. The search database created in advance is stored in the flash memory 105 b in the control circuit 105.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the search database, and FIG. 3A is a star diagram of a certain area in the sky reproduced using the search database. FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating the length ratio of each side in each triangle composed of three stars among the stars illustrated in FIG. In this embodiment, it is called side A, side B, and side C in order from the shorter side of the three sides of the triangle, and the three-side ratio is expressed in this order. When the number of stars in the screen illustrated in FIG. 3A is n, the number of triangles is “nC3”. In this case, FIG. 3B shows n × (n−1) × (n -2) This represents the three-side ratio of / (3 × 2 × 1) triangles.

<Astronomy identification processing>
FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of astronomical image correction processing executed by the control circuit 105. The control circuit 105 having the search database activates the process shown in FIG. 4 when, for example, the “celestial image correction” item is selected on the menu screen.

  The control circuit 105 identifies a celestial object to be processed prior to the celestial image correction process. In step S1 of FIG. 4, the control circuit 105 inputs an image from the memory card 50 (reads image data from the instructed image file to the SDRAM), and proceeds to step S2. In step S2, the control circuit 105 reads the read image observation information from the memory card 50 and proceeds to step S3. As described above, the observation information includes positioning information indicating the shooting location of the image, azimuth information for shooting the image, elevation angle information for shooting the image, shooting lens information, and shooting time information of the image.

  In step S <b> 3, the control circuit 105 determines whether it is necessary to correct optical distortion caused by the photographing lens based on the lens type name included in the observation information. If the distortion is greater than or equal to the predetermined amount, the control circuit 105 makes an affirmative determination in step S3 and proceeds to step S4. If the distortion is less than the predetermined amount, the control circuit 105 makes a negative determination in step S3 and proceeds to step S5. The relationship between the magnitude of distortion, the model name of the photographic lens, and the focal length is recorded in advance in the flash memory 105b.

  In step S4, the control circuit 105 corrects the distortion of the captured image by image processing. For example, when the barrel distortion is caused by the configuration of the photographing lens, the distortion correction is performed so as to suppress the barrel-shaped bulge. Further, for example, when the pincushion distortion is caused by the configuration of the photographing lens, the distortion correction is performed so as to suppress the pincushion type depression.

  The control circuit 105 determines whether the lens distortion is a barrel type or a pincushion type based on the model name of the photographic lens, and determines the strength of distortion correction according to the focal length of the photographic lens. Parameters for determining the strength of distortion correction are recorded in advance in the flash memory 105b, for example. By the distortion correction, it is possible to suppress the displacement of the bright spot (celestial body) due to the lens aberration in the captured image.

  In step S5, the control circuit 105 determines the search area of the search database. Specifically, based on the observation information, the range of celestial bodies expected to appear in the input captured image is narrowed out of all the sky data of the search database. That is, based on the shooting time and positioning information, the celestial body group that can be observed when the direction is viewed from the shooting location at that time is narrowed down. Furthermore, the range of celestial bodies that may be captured is narrowed down based on the height of the celestial body estimated based on the elevation angle information (angle looking up with respect to the horizon) and the angle of view information of the photographing lens.

  The number of triangles (3,542,276) that the search database has is the number over the whole sky. Of these, the number of celestial bodies that can actually be observed at a certain point on the earth is considered to be almost half excluding the back side of the earth. Therefore, assuming that the number of fixed stars is simply 1/2, the number of triangles formed when three stars are selected is “(278/2) C3” = 437,989. From these, a group of celestial bodies (triangles composed of these stars) that can be actually observed is narrowed down based on the above-mentioned shooting location, direction, height, and angle of view. When the control circuit 105 narrows down the search area in this way, the process proceeds to step S6. FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating the photographed image input in step S1 (the corrected image when distortion is corrected in step S4).

  In step S6 of FIG. 4, the control circuit 105 selects three bright points (= celestial bodies) included in the image screen illustrated in FIG. 6A as representative points. A bright spot corresponds to a celestial body and is composed of a plurality of data in which pixel positions are close to each other. For example, three bright spots are automatically selected in order from the brightest. It should be noted that after the captured image (FIG. 6 (a)) is reproduced and displayed on the monitor 107, the bright spot designated by the operator by operating the operation member 101 may be selected. FIG. 7A is a diagram illustrating three bright spots a ′, b ′, and c ′ selected in the captured image.

  In step S7, the control circuit 105 compares the representative point with the search database. First, relative coordinate values indicating the positions of the three bright spots are obtained, and the length ratio of each side of the triangle formed by these three bright spots is calculated. FIG. 7B is a diagram illustrating the length ratio of each side of the triangle formed by the three bright spots illustrated in FIG. In this case as well, the three sides of the constructed triangle are called side A, side B, and side C in order from the shortest side, and the three-side ratio is expressed in this order.

  The control circuit 105 refers to the area of the search database narrowed down in step S5, and the length ratio of each side of the triangle formed by the representative points a ′, b ′, and c ′ illustrated in FIG. Compare with In step S8, the control circuit 105 determines whether or not the three side ratios match. The control circuit 105 makes an affirmative decision in step S8 when a combination of three points having the same three-side ratio with the photographed image exists in the search database, proceeds to step S9, and the three-side ratio matches. If the combination of three points (= three celestial bodies) does not exist in the search database, a negative determination is made in step S8 and the process returns to step S6.

  When returning to step S6, the control circuit 105 selects another set of three points from the bright points (= celestial bodies) included in the image screen illustrated in FIG. The above-described processing is repeated until a set of is found.

  In step S9, which proceeds after making an affirmative decision in step S8, the control circuit 105 repeats the comparison process (S6, S7) until a predetermined number of matches are determined by comparison with the search database. Specifically, another set of three points from the bright points (= celestial bodies) included in the image screen illustrated in FIG. 6A is selected as a representative point. FIG. 8A is a diagram illustrating three bright spots e ′, f ′, and i ′ selected in the captured image. Then, the control circuit 105 obtains relative coordinate values indicating the positions of the three bright spots, and calculates the length ratio of each side of the triangle formed by these three bright spots. FIG. 8B is a diagram illustrating the length ratio of each side of the triangle formed by the three bright spots illustrated in FIG. In this case as well, side A, side B, and side C are called in order from the shorter of the three sides of the triangle, and the three-side ratio is expressed in this order.

  The control circuit 105 that performs the second and subsequent comparisons refers to the neighborhood area of the triangle used in the previous comparison in the search database, and uses the representative points e ′, f ′, and i ′ illustrated in FIG. Compare with the length ratio of each side of the constructed triangle. The comparison process is repeated in this way because of unnecessary bright spots other than “stars”, such as bright spots such as point light sources that appear in the captured image, and bright spot noise caused by pixel defects in the image sensor. This is a case where a point exists.

  As described above, the control circuit 105 determines whether or not a predetermined number of matches have been determined by repeated comparison with the search database. Position of bright spots (ie, celestial bodies) between the captured image and the search database when a predetermined number of triangles on the captured image are matched with the search database (when a match is determined). This is because it is determined that the correlation has been obtained. As described above, the information of the celestial bodies included in the captured image is specified based on the matching of the triangle between the search database and the captured image among the information included in the search database. The control circuit 105 makes an affirmative decision in step S9 when determining, for example, three matches, and proceeds to step S10. If the number of times determined to match is less than 3, the control circuit 105 makes a negative determination in step S9 and returns to step S6.

  When returning to step S6, the control circuit 105 selects another set of three points from the bright points (= celestial bodies) included in the image screen illustrated in FIG. 6A as representative points, and performs the above-described processing. repeat.

<Image correction processing>
The control circuit 105 that specified the celestial body included in the image illustrated in FIG. 6A performs image correction processing described below in step S10. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the details of the image correction processing. In step S31 of FIG. 5, the control circuit 105 starts image scanning and proceeds to step S32. In the image scan, starting from the upper left of the image of FIG. 6A, for example, a block of a predetermined size (for example, 8 × 8 pixels) is shifted in the horizontal right direction, and a celestial body (star) exists in the block. This is a process of sequentially searching whether or not.

  In step S32, the control circuit 105 determines whether or not there is a star in the block. The control circuit 105 determines that the celestial object is a bright spot only when all of the following three conditions are satisfied, and whether or not there is celestial information (grade, hue, star cluster, nebula name, etc.) corresponding to this bright spot. Match with search database.

1. The periphery of the bright spot is dark, or the luminance difference between the bright spot and the peripheral area is, for example, 64 or more in 8-bit notation. The size of the bright spot is, for example, 3 × 3 pixel size (not flowing)
3. The color difference component at the bright spot is extremely different from white and has no color (red or blue)

  As a result of the collation, if the corresponding astronomical information exists in the search database and the contents match, the control circuit 105 makes an affirmative decision in step S32 and proceeds to step S33. If there are unsatisfied conditions among the above three conditions, if the corresponding astronomical information does not exist in the search database or the contents do not match, the control circuit 105 makes a negative determination in step S32 and performs step S35. Proceed to As a result, if the brightness, color, and position of the bright spot in the captured image do not match the information in the search database (such as lighting), or if there is celestial information in the search database, the corresponding position of the captured image If it is not reflected as a bright spot, a negative determination is made in step S32 and the process proceeds to step S35. As described above, the correlation in the positional relationship of the bright spots (that is, celestial bodies) is obtained between the captured image (FIG. 6A) and the search database, so that the determination in step S32 can be easily performed.

  In step S <b> 33, the control circuit 105 sets the block as “a region with stars” and proceeds to step S <b> 34. On the other hand, in step S35, the control circuit 105 sets the block as a “starless area” and proceeds to step S34. In step S34, the control circuit 105 determines whether or not the entire area of the image (FIG. 6A) has been scanned. The control circuit 105 makes an affirmative decision in step S34 when the image has been scanned to the end point position at the lower right of the screen, and proceeds to step S36. If the control circuit 105 has not scanned to the end position at the lower right of the image screen, the control circuit 105 makes a negative determination in step S34 and returns to step S32. When returning to step S32, the control circuit 105 returns the block to the left end of the screen when the block position reaches the right end of the image, moves the block downward, and shifts the block to the horizontal right again. The lower right of the image screen is the end point of the image scan.

  In step S36, the control circuit 105 starts grouping and proceeds to step S37. Grouping refers to creating a two-dimensional space including “a region where a bright spot should not be present”, that is, “a region where a bright spot was not captured according to the information in the search database”.

  FIG. 6 (b) is a diagram showing the bright spots of the celestial bodies (stars) not shown in the photographed image of FIG. 6 (a) based on the search database. In FIG. 6 (a), houses, trees, etc. A bright spot corresponding to a star hidden behind the background (corresponding to the three celestial bodies h, j, and g included in Fig. 2 (a)) superimposed on the background portion of Fig. 6 (a) It is. In FIG. 6B, the control device 105 performs grouping on three bright spots H, J, and G corresponding to the three celestial bodies h, j, and g, respectively.

  As illustrated in FIG. 9A, the control circuit 105 sequentially refers to the boundary of the group while setting the background region having the same color as the position where the bright spots are superimposed as the same group. Then, the group is expanded (or reduced) until the luminance on both sides of the boundary is not lower than the predetermined luminance and a predetermined luminance difference appears on both sides of the boundary. As a result, as illustrated in FIG. 9B, the group range is expanded to the boundary that partitions the background and the sky, and the grouping is terminated.

  In such group expansion / reduction, the processing order may be changed between the grouping process and the expansion / reduction process so as to match the grouping algorithm. In step S37, the control circuit 105 determines whether the area of the group is equal to or larger than a predetermined size. If the area after grouping is equal to or larger than the predetermined size, the control circuit 105 makes an affirmative determination in step S37 and proceeds to step S38. If the area after grouping is less than the predetermined size, the control circuit 105 makes a negative determination in step S37. Proceed to step S40.

  In step S38, the control circuit 105 validates the group and proceeds to step S39. In step S40, the control circuit 105 cancels the group (does not treat it as a group) and proceeds to step S39. In step S39, the control circuit 105 determines whether or not the entire image shown in FIG. 6B has been processed. The control circuit 105 makes a positive determination in step S39 and proceeds to step S41 when the grouping process is performed on all background regions based on the bright spots H, J, and G that are not captured. If the grouping process has not been performed on all the background areas, the control circuit 105 makes a negative determination in step S39 and returns to step S37. When returning to step S37, the control circuit 105 repeats the above-described processing. A group effective at the end of the grouping corresponds to a “starless area” described below.

  In step S <b> 41, the control circuit 105 performs image processing on the “star area”. For example, when the control circuit 105 includes the photographed image 2 in FIG. 10A and the photographed image 3 in FIG. 10B having different photographing times from the photographed image in FIG. The grouping process is performed on each intermittently captured image. The control circuit 105 further excludes the “starless area” from each of the photographed image 1, the photographed image 2, and the photographed image 3, and only the “starred region” occurs between the photographed image 1, the photographed image 2, and the photographed image 3. In order to cancel the deviation of the position of the star (which is caused by the rotation of the earth), an astronomical image is created by overlaying and combining the positions of the bright spots. When superimposing and compositing, simply adding the part that overlaps the “star-free area” will result in an unnatural picture. Therefore, for the overlapping part, the composition is performed by exclusive averaging to add only the starred image. To do.

  FIG. 11A is a diagram exemplifying an image after being superimposed on the “star region”. In FIG. 11 (a), the area corresponding to the background (indicated by diagonal lines) is narrower in width on the left and right than the background area in the original photographed image. This is because only the background area overlapping between the three images remains as a result of the alignment. On the other hand, a high-quality star image can be obtained by superimposing the “star region”.

  In step S <b> 42, the control circuit 105 performs image processing for the “star-free region”. The control circuit 105 creates an image in which “starless areas” obtained from the captured image 1, the captured image 2, and the captured image 3 are superimposed and combined (simple addition). Since the background does not move in the photographed image 1, the photographed image 2, and the photographed image 3, the positions of the “star-free regions” are the same. For this reason, at the time of overlay synthesis, the logical product (AND) may be obtained by aligning the background positions of the three starless images as a reference. FIG. 11B is a diagram exemplifying an image after being superimposed on the “star-free region”. The control circuit 105 performs a process of making the image inconspicuous by deleting the outline from the “starless area” after the overlapping composition, reducing the brightness of the area, reducing the contrast, and extracting the color component. When the “star-free region” includes a bright spot such as illumination, the above processing is performed after the brightness is lowered to match the brightness around the bright spot. Note that at least one of the contour removal, the luminance reduction, the contrast reduction, and the processing for removing the color component may be performed.

  In step S43, the control circuit 105 pastes the “star-free region” image (FIG. 11 (b)) after the overlay composition on the image (FIG. 11 (a)) after the overlay synthesis. Then, the process proceeds to step S44. In step S44, the control circuit 105 performs a filtering process on the pasting boundary portion as necessary, and blurs the connection between the “star region” and the “star region” to be natural.

  The control circuit 105 ends the process of FIG. 5 after the filter process, and proceeds to step S11 of FIG. In step S11 of FIG. 4, the control circuit 105 records the image after the image correction process on the memory card 50 and ends the process of FIG.

According to the embodiment described above, the following operational effects can be obtained.
(1) The camera 100 includes a control circuit 105 that identifies a celestial body included in the image based on a comparison between the image and the celestial body search database 105b, and a celestial body in which the celestial body appears in the image based on information in the celestial body search database 105b. A control circuit 105 for discriminating a region and a non-celestial region in which no celestial body is shown, a control circuit 105 for correcting the discriminated non-celestial region inconspicuously, an image of the discriminated celestial region (FIG. 11 (a)), Since the control circuit 105 for synthesizing the corrected non-celestial region image (FIG. 11B) is provided, the non-celestial region is made darker than the celestial region, for example, so that By changing the processing between the reflected portion and the background portion, a high-quality celestial image with sharpness can be obtained.

  In addition, although the example which performs a correction process automatically was demonstrated, the image (FIG.11 (b)) after a correction | amendment non-celestial area | region is displayed on the monitor 107 as a pre-image beforehand, and a user determines whether correction process is performed. May be selectable. Further, the intensity of the correction process may be selected.

(2) In the camera 100 of (1), the image includes a plurality of intermittently captured images (FIG. 6A, FIG. 10A, FIG. 10B), and the control circuit 105 includes a plurality of images. The control circuit 105 aligns and superimposes the celestial regions of the plurality of images (FIG. 11 (a)) and aligns the non-celestial regions of the plurality of images. The control circuit 105 superimposes the images (FIG. 11 (b)), and superimposes and combines the celestial region image (FIG. 11 (a)) and the superposed and non-celestial region image (FIG. 11 (b)). Was synthesized. As a result, the celestial object is captured in a stationary state, and stationary objects such as houses and trees are also captured and the image is not unsightly.

(3) In the camera 100 of the above (2), the control circuit 105 has a brightness of 64 or more when the periphery of the bright spot included in the image is dark or the brightness difference between the bright spot and the peripheral is 8-bit notation. When a point is 3 pixels by 3 pixels or less in a dot shape and the color of the bright spot is almost white, the bright spot is determined to be a celestial body reflected in the image. Bright spots other than celestial bodies such as lighting and point light sources can be appropriately excluded.

(4) In the camera 100, the control circuit 105 collates only the bright spots determined to be celestial objects with the information in the celestial body search database 105b. The burden can be reduced.

(5) In the camera 100, the control circuit 105 includes the position of the bright spot that matches the information in the celestial body search database 105b in the celestial region, the position of the bright spot that is not determined as a celestial body, the information in the celestial body search database 105b, The positions of bright spots and non-brilliant spots that do not match were included in the non-celestial region. As a result, the positions of bright spots other than the celestial body, the positions of bright spots that do not match the information in the celestial body search database 105b, and the positions of bright spots that have not been captured despite the presence of information in the celestial body search database 105b can be appropriately displayed. Can be included in the area.

  In addition, since the celestial object which was not imaged according to the information of the celestial object search database 105b can be specified, it may be listed as “an object not imaged” and added to the image data as a secondary effect. Such additional data can be utilized in later astronomical photography.

(6) In the camera 100, the control circuit 105 performs at least one of contour deletion, luminance reduction, contrast reduction, and color component removal for the non-celestial area. High-quality celestial images with sharpness can be easily obtained.

(Modification 1)
The celestial object specifying process described above is an example, and the celestial object in the captured image may be specified by another specifying method.

(Modification 2)
In the above-described embodiment, it has been described that three or less stars are extracted from the celestial database, but the star rating is not limited to the above example. For example, a star of grade 6 or less may be used.

(Modification 3)
In the embodiment described above, the example in which the camera 100 performs celestial object specification and image correction processing has been described. However, an apparatus that performs celestial object specification and image correction using a personal computer may be configured. In this case, an astronomical object identification / image correction processing apparatus is configured by causing the computer apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 13 to execute a program for performing the processing of the flowcharts illustrated in FIGS. When the program is used by being loaded into the personal computer 200, the program is loaded into the data storage device of the personal computer 200, and the program is executed to be used as an astronomical object identification and image correction processing device.

  The loading of the program to the personal computer 200 may be performed by setting a storage medium 204 such as a CD-ROM storing the program in the personal computer 200, or to the personal computer 200 by a method via the communication line 201 such as a network. You may load. When passing through the communication line 201, the program is stored in the hard disk device 203 of the server (computer) 202 connected to the communication line 201. The program can be supplied as various forms of computer program products such as provision via the storage medium 204 or the communication line 201.

  The above description is merely an example, and is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Camera 101 ... Operation member 102 ... Imaging element 103 ... Geomagnetic sensor 104 ... GPS circuit 105 ... Control circuit 105a ... SDRAM
105b ... Flash memory 106 ... Recording / reproducing unit 107 ... Monitor 200 ... Computer 204 ... Storage medium

Claims (8)

A specifying means for specifying a celestial body included in the image based on a comparison between the image and a celestial object search database;
Based on the information of the celestial body search database, a determination means for determining a celestial region in which the celestial body is reflected in the image and a non-celestial region in which the celestial body is not captured
Correction means for correcting the non-celestial region of the image inconspicuously;
Image combining means for combining the image of the determined celestial region and the image of the non-celestial region after correction;
An astronomical image processing apparatus comprising: The astronomical image processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The image includes a plurality of intermittently shot images,
The determination means performs determination for each of the plurality of images,
The correction means aligns and superimposes the celestial regions of the plurality of images, and aligns and superimposes the non-celestial regions of the plurality of images,
The astronomical image processing apparatus, wherein the image synthesizing unit comprises synthesizing the superimposed image of the celestial region and the superimposed image of the non-celestial region. The astronomical image processing apparatus according to claim 2,
The discriminating means is such that the periphery of a luminescent spot included in the image is dark, or the luminance difference between the luminescent spot and the periphery is a predetermined value or more, the luminescent spot is a dot having a predetermined size, and the color of the luminescent spot A celestial image processing apparatus that determines that the luminescent spot is a celestial object reflected in the image when the image is substantially white. The astronomical image processing device according to claim 3,
The celestial image processing apparatus characterized in that the discrimination means collates only the bright spot determined as the celestial object with the information in the celestial object search database. The astronomical image processing apparatus according to claim 4,
The determination means includes a bright spot position that matches information in the celestial body search database in the celestial region, a bright spot position that is not determined as the celestial body, a bright spot that does not match the information in the celestial body search database, and a non- An astronomical image processing apparatus comprising a position of a bright spot in the non-celestial region. The astronomical image processing apparatus according to claim 5,
The astronomical image processing apparatus, wherein the correction unit performs at least one of contour deletion, luminance reduction, contrast reduction, and color component removal for the non-celestial region. Input processing to input images,
A specifying process for specifying a celestial body included in the image based on a comparison between the image and a celestial object search database;
Based on the information of the celestial body search database, a determination process for determining a celestial region in which the celestial body is reflected and a non-celestial region in which the celestial body is not captured
A correction process for inconspicuously correcting the determined non-celestial region;
An astronomical image processing program for causing a computer to execute an image composition process for compositing the determined image of the astronomical area and the corrected image of the non-celestial area. An imaging means for capturing an image of a celestial body;
An astronomical image processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A camera that corrects an image picked up by the image pickup means.

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