Drizzle (or DRIZZLE) is a digital image processing method for the linear reconstruction of undersampled images. The method is normally used for the combination of astronomical images and was originally developed for the Hubble Deep Field observations made by the Hubble Space Telescope. The algorithm, known as variable-pixel linear reconstruction, or informally as "Drizzle", preserves photometry and resolution, can weight input images according to the statistical significance of each pixel, and removes the effects of geometric distortion on both image shape and photometry. In addition, it is possible to use drizzling to combine dithered images in the presence of cosmic rays.
Drizzling is commonly used by amateur astrophotographers, particularly for processing large amounts of planetary image data (typically several thousand frames), drizzling in astrophotography applications can also be used to recover higher resolution stills from terrestrial video recordings.[1] According to astrophotographer David Ratledge, "Results using the DRIZZLE command can be spectacular with amateur instruments."[2]