Specialized image processing technique applied to Halley multicolour camera images of the Earth

A special image processing technique has been applied to earth images taken by the Halley Multicolour Camera (HMC) on‐board ESA's space probe Giotto on its way to a close encounter with comet Halley on March 14, 1986. The method depends on the knowledge of the point spread function of the optical system. Deconvolution has been achieved by a direct inversion of the convolution process subject to boundary conditions that would correspond to non‐linear filter processes. Experimental evidence is presented that under the prevailing conditions the technique can provide pixel resolution. Comparison with weather satellite images allow verification of the results for the earth observations.