Register      Login
Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia Society
Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Random Numbers from Astronomical Imaging

Michael Bulmer and Kevin A. Pimbblet

Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia 22(1) 1 - 5
Published: 07 January 2005

Abstract

This article describes a method to turn astronomical imaging into a random number generator by using the positions of incident cosmic rays and hot pixels to generate bit streams. We subject the resultant bit streams to a battery of standard benchmark statistical tests for randomness and show that these bit streams are statistically the same as a perfect random bit stream. Strategies for improving and building upon this method are outlined.

Keywords: methods: statistical — techniques: image processing — techniques: miscellaneous

https://doi.org/10.1071/AS04043

© ASA 2005

PDF (817 KB) Export Citation

Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Share via Email

View Dimensions

View Altmetrics