Combining images and generating masks from clipping

Note

There are currently two interfaces to image combination. One is through the Combiner class, the other through the combine function. They offer almost identical capabilities. The primary difference is that combine allows you to place an upper limit on the amount of memory used.

Note

Image combination performance is substantially better if you install the bottleneck package, especially when using a median.

The first step in combining a set of images is creating a Combiner instance:

>>> from astropy import units as u
>>> from astropy.nddata import CCDData
>>> from ccdproc import Combiner
>>> import numpy as np
>>> ccd1 = CCDData(np.random.normal(size=(10,10)),
...                unit=u.adu)
>>> ccd2 = ccd1.copy()
>>> ccd3 = ccd1.copy()
>>> combiner = Combiner([ccd1, ccd2, ccd3])

The combiner task really combines two things: generation of masks for individual images via several clipping techniques and combination of images, with optional weighting of images for some of the combination methods.

Image masks and clipping

There are currently three methods of clipping. None affect the data directly; instead each constructs a mask that is applied when images are combined.

Masking done by clipping operations is combined with the image mask provided when the Combiner is created.

Min/max clipping

minmax_clipping masks all pixels above or below user-specified levels. For example, to mask all values above the value 0.1 and below the value -0.3:

>>> combiner.minmax_clipping(min_clip=-0.3, max_clip=0.1)

Either min_clip or max_clip can be omitted.

Sigma clipping

For each pixel of an image in the combiner, sigma_clipping masks the pixel if is more than a user-specified number of deviations from the central value of that pixel in the list of images.

The sigma_clipping method is very flexible: you can specify both the function for calculating the central value and the function for calculating the deviation. The default is to use the mean (ignoring any masked pixels) for the central value and the standard deviation (again ignoring any masked values) for the deviation.

You can mask pixels more than 5 standard deviations above or 2 standard deviations below the median with

>>> combiner.sigma_clipping(low_thresh=2, high_thresh=5, func=np.ma.median)

Note

Numpy masked median can be very slow in exactly the situation typically encountered in reducing ccd data: a cube of data in which one dimension (in the case the number of frames in the combiner) is much smaller than the number of pixels.

Extrema clipping

For each pixel position in the input arrays, the algorithm will mask the highest nhigh and lowest nlow pixel values. The resulting image will be a combination of Nimages-nlow-nhigh pixel values instead of the combination of Nimages worth of pixel values.

You can mask the lowest pixel value and the highest two pixel values with:

>>> combiner.clip_extrema(nlow=1, nhigh=2)

Iterative clipping

To clip iteratively, continuing the clipping process until no more pixels are rejected, loop in the code calling the clipping method:

>>> old_n_masked = 0  # dummy value to make loop execute at least once
>>> new_n_masked = combiner.data_arr.mask.sum()
>>> while (new_n_masked > old_n_masked):
...     combiner.sigma_clipping(func=np.ma.median)
...     old_n_masked = new_n_masked
...     new_n_masked = combiner.data_arr.mask.sum()

Note that the default values for the high and low thresholds for rejection are 3 standard deviations.

Image combination

Image combination is straightforward; to combine by taking the average, excluding any pixels mapped by clipping:

>>> combined_average = combiner.average_combine()  

Performing a median combination is also straightforward, but can be slow:

>>> combined_median = combiner.median_combine()  

Combination with image scaling

In some circumstances it may be convenient to scale all images to some value before combining them. Do so by setting scaling:

>>> scaling_func = lambda arr: 1/np.ma.average(arr)
>>> combiner.scaling = scaling_func  
>>> combined_average_scaled = combiner.average_combine()  

This will normalize each image by its mean before combining (note that the underlying images are not scaled; scaling is only done as part of combining using average_combine or median_combine).

Weighting images during image combination

There are times when different images need to have different weights during image combination. For example, different images may have different exposure times. When combining image mosaics, each pixel may need a different weight depending on how much overlap there is between the images that make up the mosaic.

Both weighting by image and pixel-wise weighting are done by setting weights.

Recall that in the example on this page three images, each 10 x 10 pixels, are being combined. To weight the three images differently, set weights to an array for length three:

>>> combiner.weights = np.array([0.5, 1, 2.0])
>>> combine_weighted_by_image = combiner.average_combine()  

To use pixel-wise weighting set weights to an array that matches the number of images and image shape, in this case 3 x 10 x 10:

>>> combiner.weights = np.random.random_sample([3, 10, 10])
>>> combine_weighted_by_image = combiner.average_combine()  

Note

Weighting does not work when using the median to combine images. It works only for combining by average or by summation.

Image combination using ImageFileCollection

There are a couple of ways that image combination can be done if you are using ImageFileCollection to manage a folder of images.

For this example, a temporary folder with images in it is created:

>>> from tempfile import mkdtemp
>>> from pathlib import Path
>>> import numpy as np
>>> from astropy.nddata import CCDData
>>> from ccdproc import ImageFileCollection, Combiner, combine
>>>
>>> ccd = CCDData(np.ones([5, 5]), unit='adu')
>>>
>>> # Make a temporary folder as a path object
>>> image_folder = Path(mkdtemp())
>>> # Put several copies ccd in the temporary folder
>>> _ = [ccd.write(image_folder / f"ccd-{i}.fits") for i in range(3)]
>>> ifc = ImageFileCollection(image_folder)

To combine images using the Combiner class you can use the ccds method of the ImageFileCollection:

>>> c = Combiner(ifc.ccds())
>>> avg_combined = c.average_combine()

There two ways combine images using the combine function. If the images are large enough to combine in memory, then use the file names as the argument to combine, like this:

>>> avg_combo_mem_lim = combine(ifc.files_filtered(include_path=True),
...                             mem_limit=1e9)

If memory use is not an issue, then the ccds method can be used here too:

>>> avg_combo = combine(ifc.ccds())

Combination with image transformation and alignment

Note

Flux conservation Whether flux is conserved in performing the reprojection depends on the method you use for reprojecting and the extent to which pixel area varies across the image. wcs_project rescales counts by the ratio of pixel area of the pixel indicated by the keywords CRPIX of the input and output images.

The reprojection methods available are described in detail in the documentation for the reproject project; consult those documents for details.

You should carefully check whether flux conservation provided in CCDPROC is adequate for your needs. Suggestions for improvement are welcome!

Align and then combine images based on World Coordinate System (WCS) information in the image headers in two steps.

First, reproject each image onto the same footprint using wcs_project. The example below assumes you have an image with WCS information and another image (or WCS) onto which you want to project your images:

>>> from ccdproc import wcs_project
>>> reprojected_image = wcs_project(input_image, target_wcs)

Repeat this for each of the images you want to combine, building up a list of reprojected images:

>>> reprojected = []
>>> for img in my_list_of_images:
...     new_image = wcs_project(img, target_wcs)
...     reprojected.append(new_image)

Then, combine the images as described above for any set of images:

>>> combiner = Combiner(reprojected)
>>> stacked_image = combiner.average_combine()