Richard N. Hook
ST-ECF
Andrew S. Fruchter
STScI
We have developed a method for the linear reconstruction of an image from undersampled, dithered data, which has been used to create the distributed, combined Hubble Deep Field images. The algorithm, known as Variable-Pixel Linear Reconstruction (or informally as ``drizzling"), preserves photometry and resolution, can weight input images according to the statistical significance of each pixel, and removes the effects of geometric distortion both on image shape and photometry. In this paper, the algorithm and its implementation are described, and measurements of the photometric accuracy and image fidelity are presented. We also describe experiments in which the method is extended to dynamically detect and suppress the effects of cosmic-ray events on individual frames.