Story perspectives

New Method Boosts Accuracy of Astronomical Image Gains

12/16/2025

Summary

Story summary

Researchers from the Space Telescope Science Institute developed a likelihood-based method to determine electronic gain in astronomical images.
The method uses up-the-ramp sampling to read detectors repeatedly without resetting, increasing gain accuracy.
It accounts for noise and nonlinearities and provides reliable gain estimates.
Validation with data from the Wide-Field Instrument on the Roman Space Telescope shows a 3.5% median pixel-gain uncertainty, and the method will join the calibration pipeline.

1 of 1

Story summary

Researchers from the Space Telescope Science Institute developed a likelihood-based method to determine electronic gain in astronomical images.
The method uses up-the-ramp sampling to read detectors repeatedly without resetting, increasing gain accuracy.
It accounts for noise and nonlinearities and provides reliable gain estimates.
Validation with data from the Wide-Field Instrument on the Roman Space Telescope shows a 3.5% median pixel-gain uncertainty, and the method will join the calibration pipeline.